Hokum, History and Harm (Pt 1)
“Only men could oppress women for thousands of years, then turn around, put on a dress, and complain that they are the most marginalized group in society.” Kara Dansky Remember the Seven Sisters – the original prestigious and renowned women’s colleges that dot the Northeast? Mount Holyoke College, Vassar College, Wellesley College, Smith College, Radcliffe …
A Long Way Up: Reflections on Memoir
Maedv O’Hlfearnain Some of my fondest childhood memories are those of my father and me. He was lanky and handsome, his form topped by a thatch of thick black hair. I was his sidekick, and we were travelers, he and I, pioneers, wending through the small of time. My father was a funny man, a …
Of Air and Breath
“Breathing dreams like air”. ― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby The world is a tiny place now, as each of us folds in on ourselves. There’s a dislodging, perhaps, from sensibility. Like Alice peering through the Looking Glass, we are prone to illusion, to falling into a boondoggle of thought and action. It’s a dangerous time. …
Present; Forward, in a Poem
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. ― Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Words, I love them more as I get older. They, like ancestors, pull me; assembling, as visitation; gathering around midnight. And they, outfitted in the garb of ancient kin, are sitting; close. …
Keeper of Faith (Or, God Doesn’t Care if You Wear Birkenstocks)
“Go where your best prayers take you.” ― Frederick Buechner My mother’s name was Evelyn, and she was a storyteller, an artful historian with a gift for gab. Her memory my companion, still, is the fabric that shaped her voice, and mine. Evelyn, my mother, mom, ma, mommy, and, nanny, in the end, was …
Redemption
The day misspent, the love misplaced, has inside it the seed of redemption. Nothing is exempt from resurrection. – Kay Ryan, poet To be human is to embrace memory, or to grasp recollection the way a child squeezes a rubber ball in his tiny, clenched fist. Memory. It’s cornerstone, isn’t it? Bedrock, owned. Coveted. …
Loss of Grief: A Brief History of the DSM 5
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is a reference book that contains standard criteria for the classification and diagnosis of mental disorders. It is considered an authoritative source of information for psychiatrists,psychologists, policy makers, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies,and other health care professionals. Published by the American Psychiatric Association, the DSM evolved out of systems …
Remembering Tamoxifen
By Margot Heffernan, MLS Last week, I picked up a copy of the local paper. I took a cursory look at it, turning page after page, finding the usual, less than uplifting forecasts about the financial cliff, along side articles about chaos in Egypt, natural disasters, and accidental death. As I turned it over, letting the front page flutter out …