Persistence pays and how I manage stressful times

I’ve never been a sporty type. From lurking (and surreptitiously reading!) in the outfield during a middle school baseball game, to spraining my back when I first attempted a forward roll and huffing and puffing in the gym as classmates ran around me, my lack of...

Advice to my younger self

 On social media and elsewhere recently, many people are giving advice to their younger selves. Some posts are short and pithy (no major accomplishment without significant “butt hurt” is an especially topical one for writers!), but others are longer and thoughtful...

Back to the barre

For most of my adult life, a pair of worn ballet slippers has lurked at the back of my wardrobe—a poignant reminder of something that was important to me as a book and dance-loving child and teen, but that I’d lost sight of as the years slipped by.  Those shoes...