When the kids were growing up, we had a giant weeping willow tree in the backyard. It was a magnificent specimen with long, graceful branches that swayed in the breeze.

It was also a magnificent mess. Not only did it dance in the wind, it seemed the tree shed constantly-every day, every week, every month of the year. To add insult to injury, ...Read more

With the final season of "The Handmaid’s Tale" upon us, Gilead’s chilling grip on our imagination feels more relevant than ever. As real-world threats to bodily rights, privacy, and personal freedoms intensify, these novels delve into the struggle for self-determination against oppressive forces — whether political, technological, or ...Read more

Brooke Jones went through two years of infertility before finally becoming pregnant at 34.

Always an anxious person, her worries rose "to another level" as she went through her pregnancy, delivery and early parenthood during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If someone so much as coughed near Jones, it could send her into an emotional tailspin. And that ...Read more

Suze Leonie’s "Yonah and Devorah’s Traveling Music Theater" takes readers on a haunting journey through grief, family secrets and creative reinvention. At the heart of this deeply introspective novel is Eli Schmidt, a young man who, after his grandmother’s death, finds himself grappling not only with her passing but with a family legacy ...Read more

One of our granddaughters announced she is going to an ice cream parlor on her honeymoon. I thought it would be good to get that on record in case she changes her mind and starts talking about a Caribbean cruise or backpacking through Europe.

She is not engaged.

She doesn’t date.

She is 6.

To the best of everyone’s knowledge, she has ...Read more

Some authors can tell a sad story but render it beautiful. That’s what Bobi Conn observed when she started reading books while in graduate school at the age of 27.

I would take it a step further and count Conn herself among those authors.

Conn documented poignantly the harsh realities of her own life growing up in the foothills of the ...Read more

Dr. Priya Soni remembers the childhood hand-washing lessons her mother taught. She didn't just make Soni wash her hands before meals, or insist she clean up after playing outside.

Soni's mother, a microbiologist who ran her own lab, had her wash one hand and then put both in a petri dish to illustrate the difference good hygiene made in ...Read more

Here’s how death works:

Up there, you’re not allowed to leave your residence or contact other dead people — although you’ll be afforded any leisure pastimes or hobbies that may interest you. No one said death wasn’t boring.

The only exception is if your phone rings and you are contacted and called to Earth by a living descendent for ...Read more

My mother grew up in a beset post-Depression family that saddled her with too many responsibilities, including, from age 9, tending her three siblings while her mother worked nights as a nurse and slept days.

Among her siblings was Aunt Cathy.

Aunt Cathy was always considered "off” by my hardened grandmother, though I always wondered if she ...Read more

Our youngest daughter called the other day sounding harried. “I’m in the middle of cooking and I’m short an egg. Is it still OK to borrow an egg from a neighbor?”

I didn’t know what to say. Miss Manners never covered this one. Then again, Miss Manners probably never paid more than 75 cents for a dozen eggs.

It used to be fine to ...Read more

Aline Weiller’s "FUN: Essays on a Life Embraced" is a delightful and heartfelt collection that captures the essence of joy, nostalgia and the beauty of everyday experiences.

With wit, warmth and an undeniable gift of storytelling, Weiller invites readers into her world: a place filled with family, pop culture, personal reflection and the kind...Read more

Restaurant prices have been creeping upward in the last few years, and for many people, this means dining out has become a special indulgence instead of a regular occurrence. But what if you could enjoy your favorite restaurant dishes without the hefty menu price?

That’s where The Everything Restaurant Copycat Recipes Cookbook by cookbook ...Read more

Did you become far too invested in "The White Lotus" Season Three for it to only be eight episodes? Have you scrolled through every Tweet, TikTok carousel and Instagram comment about the finale and still aren’t satisfied? Are you dreaming of a vacation where the conversation poolside is seeping with mixed messages and underlying motivations?

...Read more

Forget the diaper toss game and mimosa station. The hottest trend for expecting parents in 2025 is the nesting party — a low-key, practical spin on the traditional baby shower. It’s all about getting things done with your sleeves rolled up, not just sipping punch and unwrapping onesies.

According to Pinterest Predicts — an annual report ...Read more

On a cold spring day years ago, young neighbor children found a small, dead bunny in their yard. They ran inside to tell their mother about the discovery. She went outside with the children to view the pitiful sight.

When the woman’s husband came home that evening, unbeknown to the children, he disposed of the bunny. The next day, the ...Read more

Krista Beggan’s debut novel "A Life Saving Bullet" starts off fast and never lets up. Six months after a young CIA officer dies during a clandestine operation, his best friend and sister, both CIA officers themselves, get assigned the mission of finding his killer. Hunting a ruthless criminal puts everything at stake, especially since the best...Read more

Through alternating perspectives in "Kalayla: Unraveling Tangles," Jeannie Nicholas brings to life an engaging story that explores themes of family, love, loss, marital abuse, healing, and second chances.

Set in Cambridge, Massachusetts, between the summer of 1999 and the spring of 2002, the novel follows the lives of three women from vastly ...Read more

Once their three children became adults, Michael and Jill Loughran moved from Stowe, Vermont, to a rural town about an hour away – more specifically, to a 300-acre spread that used to be a wholesale Christmas tree farm.

Before semi-retiring, Michael had been the operations manager at his family's industrial engineering company in Philadelphia...Read more

There are two kinds of people in this world: Do it Yourself People and Hire Someone to Do It For You People. Wisdom is knowing which category you fall into.

We are Do it Yourself People. Unless it involves plumbing. Then we are Hire Someone to Do It For You People.

Experience has taught us that nearly every home plumbing project can and will ...Read more

Cultural Psychosis. You might not have heard the term before, but you’re sure to have seen its effects. The term is used to describe a unique set of psychological and behavioral responses — such as feelings of hopelessness and alienation, anxiety, depression, anger, and maladaptive behaviors — within a marginalized group to systemic ...Read more