I refuse to accept that childbirth and child rearing is an inherent and integral part of womanhood. When you read this, I’m probably either getting ready to go to or am already at the hospital to get surgery. Yes, I’m getting my tubes tied today! I have been waiting for two years for this to […]
For many women, the magic of motherhood seems to sweep over them on the day their baby is born. For me, the magic of motherhood came like a change in seasons—gradually and quietly. In late December 2009, the month my oldest son was born, I was scrolling through the photos in my phone and kept […]
Can parents ever truly prevent their children from experiencing pain? It’s 2009. “Picture a string of dental floss torn in two,” the surgeon said. “When a ligament rips, hundreds of fibers blow off and the tendons absorb them. Think of shattered glass or splinters.” My husband squeezed my hand as the doctor continued. “We don’t […]
I find it ridiculous that patients are sent home from surgery with instructions about pooping and bathing, but nothing about the potential emotional complications of surgery. Just when you thought Caitlyn Jenner couldn’t be a better role model or teach us more, she slipped an important side note into her Vanity Fair debut. In the interview, […]
In writing about her surgery, Jolie looks shame right in the face and refuses it: for herself, for other women, for me. I thank her for that. Once I visited a friend in Alaska, the kind of woman who camps in the snow in a tent with a woodstove. She surprised me by insisting we […]
The goal should not be to steel myself; not to cage my body in armor, but to surround myself with padding and supports. It always starts the same way: Just when I think I’m fine, the rushing in my ears begins, as though I’m swept up in a strong wind. Lost at the end of […]
