(Photo: Hannah Whitaker/New York Magazine) Just when I was thinking of canceling my New York magazine subscription, they decide to come out with an issue on circumcision: “For and Against Foreskin”. Look, I don’t have a baby boy. I don’t have baby boy parts either. So, this issue isn’t personal for me. It’s strictly religious.… Continue reading All about Foreskin
Okay, apparently, I’ve been spending so much time in Los Angeles, I’ve forgotten how to navigate my way around Riverdale. I got lost trying to walk up from my place to Wave Hill, which was only open this particular Monday because it was Labor Day. This wouldn’t have been so embarrassing if I hadn’t been… Continue reading LABOR DAY PAINS: MAKE IT STOP. PLEASE MAKE IT STOP.
As usual I am floored by the responses to my writing, especially the responses to my piece on Aish.com. Unfortunately, some more than others. “David K , August 6, 2009: Easy for me to say but please try to love your mother. Any person with such mental illness needs love.” Right, uh, what? Why is… Continue reading Honoring Yourself, Children (But not Child Abusers)
Few people seem to take me seriously. I guess it doesn’t help that a lot of the time, I don’t take myself seriously. I rarely answer the question, “So what do you do?” In fact, I avoid it at all costs. Because people give you rather smug smiles when you say you’re writing a book.… Continue reading Seriously, people?
to Mayim Bialik? Remember her starring on that ’80s show, Blossom? Well, in case you missed my Tweet about it, read this Jewcy.com article on how Mayim feels about acting, motherhood and being an observant Jew: “From Blossom to Brachot”.
There is a short period during the year where my choice of dress code does not distinguish me from others. It’s usually that intersection between seasons, for instance, where many women are wearing skirts, long-sleeved shirts and maybe some (combat) boots. But as a friend recently noted on Facebook, it is not this season. My… Continue reading This is not a fashion show (except when it is)
Who would have thought I would ever see the world? The first time I stepped out of the tristate area was to get married in a place I’d never been to before, Connecticut. Okay, actually, I had also been to Orlando, Florida to see Mickey with my aunt and even Pennsylvania to visit the Liberty… Continue reading Italy Trip Recap: The World in My Stomach
Like Alejandra Vazquez, I, too, was beaten by my mother with a mop handle at eleven years old. Unlike Alejandra, I survived. I did not survive because of any intervention from authorities. I survived because my mother chose not to kill me that day. Like any good abuser, my mother threatened to kill me if… Continue reading The Wrong Side of a Mop Handle
I’m writing so much my brain hurts. And it doesn’t seem like I’ve ever written enough. And then there are rewrites. Some really cool chicks from my Personal Essay workshop on family have been helping me edit “Attack of the Mothers,” the piece I wrote about my fears of motherhood and my own past with… Continue reading Creating a Scene
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 