The time that song from Moana made me cry

As I've mentioned before, I'm very moved by the Here and Now program I've been doing with the Academy of Intuition. It's powerful stuff, and it's getting me to go deep into my self in ways I have avoided, both willfully and unknowingly, for many, many years. This week's theme is role playing (no, not …

Rest in peace, rat

This morning I was walking Clover, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dead rat lying in the street, right next to the curb. Stay with me here, because I know rats aren't generally people's favorite subject. But something about this rat was so compelling. It looked so extraordinarily peaceful, its …

18 things I’ve learned in 18 years of marriage

Today is my 18th wedding anniversary. In honor of our union / in a coincidental bit of publishing schedule good fortune, today is also the day that McSweeney's published a list Jordan and I wrote, called Thoughts on Marriage From a Couple Who Have Been Married for 18 Years. I hope you enjoy it. (For …

Just another mo(u)rning in America

  Good morning! Time to cozy up to social media with a mug of tea, and — what's this? Oh my god. He WON?? What country am I living in? Apparently one where we now just openly celebrate and reward violence. It's like living in Lord of the Flies. Of course, I realize, this is a …

Don’t beat yourself up

When we experience pain, we make it worse with the stories we tell ourselves about that pain. Those stories are the source of suffering. This is my biggest takeaway so far from the wonderful Here and Now program I'm doing through the Academy of Intuition. (Which I highly recommend.) Pain is inevitable. It's part of …

The pleasure of escapist porn

You guys, I am so into porn. No, not the sad cum-on–your-face variety. I'm talking AIRBNB LISTINGS. I'm talking Instagram accounts that show me LIFE IN THE HUDSON VALLEY. (Red Cottage Rentals I'm looking at you.) I am so into this shit. In some ways, the pleasure of selecting a cabin to rent in Phoenicia, NY …

Get some rest

I recently met up with a friend who is burned out from a demanding job, and worried that she's bringing the stress home to her family. "How long have you been feeling this way?," I asked. "Probably since January," she said. Oh, the month the asshat was inaugurated president? "I'm not sure that timing is …

What is real power?

(Good old Amanda, asking the small questions.) We're coming to you live from Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, on a hot-as-summer May afternoon, where we're marinating in existential angst. Today's special: deep, probing questions about the nature of power. I've written about how my sense of power is tied up in my income. ("It eats away at your …

Is it immoral to move to another country right now?

The other day, in the wake of the news of Comey's firing, I posted the following on Facebook: It sparked a fire storm of comments. Several fellow parents wrote in to say that since the election they'd gotten their children passports and renewed their own, to which I replied: What are we waiting for? I …

Gimme a five

My daughter is five today. Five. years. old. Five years of mothering. Mother: A verb, meaning, "to love in agony and elation." FIVE YEARS. Oh she talks and my heart melts. Oh her sweet little hand. Her bottom. Oh how I sometimes still long for freedom. For quiet. For a morning of meandering in laziness and …