A writer cannot just write anywhere, just like a streaker cannot just strip down and perform his art anywhere: these things require atmosphere.

I have this dog. He’s old. He’s set in his ways. Throw in the fact that he’s morbidly obese, and I could be talking about half the dogs–or people–in America.

His name is Dempsie: he’s a Jack Russell Terrior who, once upon a time, ran like the wind, killed moles and displayed their corpses on the porch in a proud throne of servitude, and would bark at the nearest sign of any intruder, even if that intruder were your grandmother.

. . . barring the rarest possibility that this luscious young darling would suddenly grow a beard and mustache, I knew I had just fallen in love. I did, I swear it. I knew I had just fallen in love.

Unlike many times in my past as a writer, I flee from forcing this book just for the sake of experience and practice and having it as something instead of a floating head.

If you haven’t seen The Business of Being Born yet, I encourage you  to watch it now! It’s available for streaming on Netflix. If you are or think you ever will be pregnant (or know someone who fits that category–hint, everyone), then do yourselves a favor and watch this documentary from Ricki Lake and Abby [...]

Drought is inevitable, but famine is not. The current crisis in the Horn of Africa is the result of a tragic combination of factors that are man-made, including abnormally high food prices, lack of governance and security in Somalia, and a historic lack of investment in long-term agricultural development in the Horn. Over the past [...]

Let’s just jump right into it: I don’t blog about religion as a rule. Not because religion is a taboo topic, but because in general, the public seems to not know how to act like adults when it comes down to discussing it. Read blog comments on any religious topic, and you’ll know what I [...]

Dear Change: I write this letter as a business associate, because I think that’s what we are. I’m not sure about you, but it’s about time others view you as you are instead of what it feels: like a close friend–or enemy. Do you ever get tired of all the poems, songs, and odes written [...]

If you’re looking for an out-of-the-ordinary gift or, hey, maybe you just don’t want to buy that $50 Boppy pillow, that’s okay. Let me make a few recommendations–in no particular order of importance–and I hope that it helps you and maybe a group of your friends pitch in on an excellent baby shower basket.

Dear Fear,

I think I know you well, though you may not know me. I’m like the geeky girl in the corner who stares at the popular one; I know you when I should really be getting to know myself.