I’d like the forty-nine percent of Americans who say torture is sometimes justified to hear the story of an American POW who survived a brutal forced march during World War II. My conclusion: Brutality begets brutality. Read more.
Barbara’s Riffs on Life
The Writing Room: Writer’s Block and the Toxic Reader
Writer’s block? Not my problem. At least, that’s what I thought until I read Jane Anne Staw’s book, “Unstuck.” Read more.
The Writing Room: Writing About Your Mother? — Words of Caution from Lori Gottlieb
Planning to write about your mother? You might reconsider after reading Lori Gottlieb’s essay in today’s New York Times. Or are you a mother writing about your kids . . .
Death Is the Only Guarantee
Our bodies should be more like our cars. When a car fails, we can trade it in for a new one, but not our bodies. Some of my friends’ bodies are failing them at a very young age. Read more.
GodsBigBlog: Kids and Money — Saving It, Spending It, Sharing It
Looking for a way to teach generosity and life-long charitable giving to the children in your family? Author Mark St.Germain and artist April Willy have a suggestion: Give them each three cups. Read more.
GodsBigBlog: Dancer Savitri Hari — God in the Lowly Things
Savitri Hari finds the sacred in the lowly things. Savitri grew up in a Hindu family in a village in South India. “We children used to gather cow dung for a special holiday. We rolled the cow dung into a ball and drew mandala designs on it with rice flour.”