Almost a year ago I drove over an hour to have lunch with two new blog-friends. Jo from Mylestones and Corinne from Trains, Tutus, and Teatime. Over flatbread we chatted and chatted and barely had time to take a breath. The time flew by. And then, over the summer, I got to spend lots more [...]
I read Laura Munson’s memoir, This Is Not the Story You Think It Is: A Season of Unlikely Happiness, over the summer, and adored it. The book grew out of Laura’s summer 2009 Modern Love column, which I remember reading with interest. This Is Not the Story You Think It Is begins with Munson’s husband [...]
This winter a blog reader sent me a link to a YouTube video that I clicked on (uncharacteristically, since honestly I don’t much like watching video). Before a minute had elapsed tears were streaming down my face. Before the video was over I’d ordered the book that Katrina Kenison read from in it, The Gift [...]
My friend Kathryn introduced me to Laura, because she thought Laura’s new book, 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, and the philosophy it evinces, would be of interest to me. In our very first exchange, Laura wrote: “I think one of the reasons people feel like they have less time than they [...]
I think anyone who’s been reading this blog knows how profoundly touched I was by Devotion, Dani Shapiro’s memoir that came out this winter. I was very privileged to meet Dani at a couple of her readings this winter; she is everything in person that you’d imagine from her graceful, honest memoir, and more. Devotion [...]
Elizabeth. How to introduce Elizabeth? Even her blog title, Boy Crazy: Finding Clarity in the Chaos, could be the subtitle of my life (sans the three sons of course, though my one gives me a run for my money). Or, hell, the TITLE. Elizabeth writes lyrically about her day to day life with her three [...]
Today I am delighted to welcome Jen Lee to Present Tense. Jen was one of the first bloggers I read regularly, and it is a distinct honor to have her words here in my humble space. Jen is a storyteller, a writer, a photographer, and, in my opinion, an all-around exemplar of a life thoughtfully [...]
My older-and-wiser younger sister, Hilary, has always has the most brilliant friends. I’ve mostly watched them from afar, impressed by their intelligence and erudition. There always seemed to be conversations going on about stuff I could barely understand. I was thrilled when Hilary told me about her friend, Launa, who was moving to the South [...]
Today I am thrilled to bring you Present Tense with Gretchen Rubin, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling book, The Happiness Project. Gretchen really needs no introduction. But, as you can see, she is a redhead. Which makes her automatically dear to my heart. Seriously, though, it is my honor to have Gretchen [...]
It is my honor to introduce the wonder woman I am featuring in today Present Tense conversation: Taylor Wells. Taylor and I met in August 2000 at a yoga retreat in Montana. It was a trip that changed her life in enormous ways, and I have had the privilege of watching those changes and of [...]
