Recently, I read Dani Shapiro’s memoir Devotion, in which she’d come to a crisis point in her life, where her son was asking her what she believed, and she didn’t know what to tell him. Devotion is Shapiro’s quest for that answer (or should I say answers?). On so many levels, I was wrung out […]
Alcohol’s Not the Only Thing That Can Sink You
Well. I needed this book. Or the tears streaming from my eyes said I did. And before you say, “But Elissa, why? You’re not an alcoholic, and you live a pretty good life,” I’m gonna hold my hand up right there, in front of your face, and retort, “But everyone’s got a hell in their […]
What Kind of Child Do You Want?
I tell the following story not as an inspirational one, in the sense that you’ll feel happy at the end of it, but as an urgent heartfelt plea to change what we’re doing with our children. I have a friend–let’s call her M.–who wrote me an e-mail the other day. She had a genuine question […]
Bad News Somehow Turned Into Good
This morning Dan leaves early with the driver and the translator for Liliana’s village (Zolotoye Pole, or Golden Fields in English) to get the necessary documents. They allow me to stay behind in the apartment with Liliana. About six hours later, Dan returns, and he’s visibly upset. They’ve returned from the village and attempted to […]