Writing from the Heart: Crying … a lot
I've been doing a lot of crying lately.
I don’t know if it’s post-, post-menopause, or the state of the world or change of life or climate change or changing channels between Fox, where they...
Writing from the Heart: Welcome back
I am welcoming myself back to the column. As some of you might know, I took a mini sabbatical to rewrite my memoir, the one that got 17 rejections. When I finally dragged myself...
The Write Prescription: Migrations
I have been privileged, for the past six months, to fill in for Nancy Aronie while she took a break from writing this column. I am excited to let you know that Nancy will...
The Write Prescription: The gift of beauty
My mother used to tell me not to be flattered when my Aunt Jenny said I was pretty. I supposed she should know. She tried to fix herself physically to meet the beauty standards...
The Write Prescription: Wanting to wait
I have spent a lot of time waiting this summer. There have been the usual moments of suspended time — waiting for the electrician to come, the internet to work, the mechanic to fix...
Disobedience has its upside
(Note: I grew up living with my grandparents, Sadie and Elton Wood, and as more time goes by, the more I appreciate the years I spent with them. This is the only time I...
The Write Prescription: Seeing magic
It’s 5:30 in the morning, and I’m trying to figure out if I want to kayak. The conditions are just the way I like them. Calm and foggy. I had just kayaked the morning...
The Write Prescription: Dressed for takeoff
Choosing your outfit for an airplane trip in the mid-1960s was a serious affair. Dresses for women, jackets and ties for men. Party clothes for girls and boys. So when I was in the...
On My Mind: Pronouns, gender identity, and our community
Editor’s note: This is a discussion put together by aspiring psychology student Truda Silberstein and edited by Truda Silberstein, Charles Silberstein, and Laura Roosevelt.
Identity
Charles (he/him)
My name is Charles Silberstein. A part of me recoils...
The Write Prescription: Dog years
I am a sucker for dog videos. My favorite form of procrastination is watching “The Dodo,” which posts clips of dogs being rescued, rehabilitated, and turning into pets full of mush and love. So...
The Write Prescription: Restless body syndrome
My father was the one who taught me to look at the sky — through the naked eye, through a telescope, through smoked glasses to see an eclipse. While I have an app on...
The Write Prescription: Separation anxiety
A week after having a baby, my daughter had to make plans to attend a close friend’s wedding. The event was five months away, but it was in Los Angeles, so hotel and plane...
Brazilian Voices: Barbara De Paula
Editor’s note: This new Brazilian Voices series was developed and is curated by longtime Brazilian columnist Juliana Germani.
In 2008, my parents and I immigrated to Martha's Vineyard from São Paulo, Brazil. After getting settled,...
The Write Prescription: Picture perfect
When my younger daughter turned 12, she went to overnight camp for the first time. She had wanted to go since she was 9, each year being tempted by her classmates’ stories of new...
The Write Prescription: In the face of helplessness
I am feeling helpless. This was not the opening for the column I planned to write this week. While this is a place for personal reflection, and where I think it’s OK to be...
On My Mind: The psychology of violence
At 86, psychiatrist and part-time Vineyarder James Gilligan just published his eighth book, “Holding a Mirror Up to Nature: Shame, Guilt, and Violence in Shakespeare.” For more than 50 years, Dr. Gilligan has studied...
The Write Prescription: Speak melody
I was 8 years old the first time I held a flute. I can’t say it was love at first sight. Music lessons were required in my house. My sister was assigned the piano....
The Write Prescription: Taking turns
I hear the Tinkerbell melody of the washing machine down in the basement. This is the second load of laundry my husband is doing today. Two years ago, he couldn’t have told you where...
Brazilian Voices: A letter to my fellow Brazilians
Editor’s note: This new Brazilian Voices series was developed and is curated by longtime Brazilian columnist Juliana Germani.
When I reflect on our Brazilian community on Martha’s Vineyard, I am filled with emotion. I feel...
The Write Prescription: Follow the leader
“I’ll change him. You sit,” I said to my daughter who I thought deserved some pampering since the birth of her son two weeks earlier.
I know that changing diapers for baby boys has its...