Motherhood and Grief

I wrote this exactly 3 years ago, when my son was 5 months old, and I’d been back at work for less than a month. The seasons have turned many times since that difficult and wonderful one. I left the workplace, then returned on flexible, part-time terms, then returned again, full-time. My son is building… Read More Motherhood and Grief

The Immortal Lessons of Henrietta Lacks

Whilst I was watching a particularly harrowing sequence in the new HBO-produced movie The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (based on Rebecca Skloot’s bestselling book), I was reminded of a bit that Chris Rock used to include in his stand-up about race. He would argue that the most ‘racist’ black people he knew were older black people,… Read More The Immortal Lessons of Henrietta Lacks

Nolite te bastardes carborondurum: A Maternal Reading of The Handmaid’s Tale

In anticipation of the forthcoming Hulu dramatization, I reread Margaret Atwood’s iconic dystopian, feminist text, The Handmaid’s Tale.  Well, only sort of. I have a lot less time and a lot more toddler in my life than I did when I first read the book twelve years ago.  This time, I listened to the unabridged audiobook.… Read More Nolite te bastardes carborondurum: A Maternal Reading of The Handmaid’s Tale