Family Life Stories

Poets & Resilience

Poets & Resilience

I love how different genres of books can appeal to all kinds of readers. I recently read three books written by poets, in the categories of inspiration, memoir, and prayer. Maggie Smith's Keep Moving is a little collection of "notes on loss, creativity, and change."...

Welcome to My Bookshop

Welcome to My Bookshop

As an author and avid reader, I'm always concerned about the success of community treasures like independent bookstores. If you are too, check out Bookshop, a terrific new site where you can buy books and your purchases benefit the book stores you love. I've curating...

Crossover Fiction Gets Parents & Teens Talking

Crossover Fiction Gets Parents & Teens Talking

Numerous studies also confirm what every reader already knows—that the novel is an incomparable vehicle for the exploration of human social and emotional life. Literary critics and philosophers have long advanced the notion that one of fiction’s main jobs is to raise...

Changing The Way You Think About Women’s Fiction

Changing The Way You Think About Women’s Fiction

It’s a reality that male writers are taken more seriously than women writers. All anyone needs to do to become disheartened is read the Vida numbers. Trust me, I wish I could laugh when The Washington Post’s Ron Charles talked about “women gossiping about how their...

Parenting in Uncertain Times

Amidst any societal disruption, parents play the lead role in helping children make sense of what they hear in a way that is honest, accurate, and minimizes anxiety or fear. As a nurse and family counselor—and a mother—I know how overwhelming it can be to calm,...