When I was a child and my parents tried to ferret out which one of us was in trouble for a wrong, my dad always told me in his most stern voice not to “tell stories.” In the deep South that was a polite way of saying “don’t lie.”
A walk through the cemetery with Dickens
My mingling of Christmas with death and mysticism harkens back to my youth, when Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” was a staple in our home. On holiday breaks from school after playing outside, the sunset came devilishly early. To beat back the darkness and cold, I would lie on the living room carpet by the fireplace and read, hands propped under my chin.
One week of solitude and my epic fail at freedom
So much has been written about making friends as we age, but no one gives you a How To Manual or instructions.
How this fantasy-fearing journalist fell for ‘Ruthless Vows’
I committed to reading both Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows, both of which have just enough fantasy for me to stomach. They also have the added benefit of following Iris Winnow, a reporter crusading for social justice, a cause I can get behind.
Petal to the metal: On the hunt for my floral soul mate
I’m back!
Democracy starts in the classroom — a parent’s dive into elementary school journalism
It is a sad day for our democracy and the First Amendment when teachers, even those of elementary schoolers, must fear teaching students how to be good citizens of the world, how to ask good questions and seek out answers.
What we mean when we say we miss newsrooms
If my former newsrooms were people I would be attending many funerals. 2,500 newspapers in the United States have closed since 2005. The country will lose one-third of its newspapers by 2025.
Shifting gears: Teaching my autistic daughter to drive
I can tell you the day I discovered freedom because I remember every intoxicating detail of the moment I drove alone for the first time after getting my driver’s license. Now, in what seems like a single heartbeat of time, my daughter is learning to drive.