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I recently asked my 13-year-old son what the best gift I’ve ever given him was. He answered right away: “Life.” OK, fair enough, I said. But, set that aside.... more

Winifred Imhof Cook blazed a path on a typewriter.... more

Dorothy Reimers, 74, shared a long-forgotten injustice with her nieces when they were chatting during a recent summer visit.... more

A queen-sized mattress takes up most of the living room floor. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in the front door. It’s draped with blue sheets and surrounded by the larger furniture on thre... more

We teach young children to consider the feelings of others in the hopes that they will grow to become empathetic adults. And yet, the glaring absence of empathy among adults is on display every day in... more

Over the past two years, many politically split families have perfected the art of avoidance.... more

When my youngest sister confided in me three years ago that she was considering a run for public office, her babies were 1 and 2 years old. She was a sleep-deprived working mom whose husband also put ... more

I was still reeling on Saturday from the breaking news of the massacre of Jewish worshippers in a synagogue in Pittsburgh when I received an email jokingly comparing insects to humans.... more

The day after the mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida, this February, a fire alarm went off in the building where Angela Lamb’s daughter attends school.... more

When making an ultra-low-budget independent film, you call in lots of favors.... more

During the post-mortem of the contentious Senate vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, my mind kept going back to what a freshman said in the writing class I’m teaching.... more

I can’t imagine my father herding a roomful of kindergartners.... more

A little more than two years ago, when the nation heard Donald Trump brag to Billy Bush about sexually assaulting women, it reignited a debate that brought forth a public wave of survivor stories. We ... more

Senators will soon consider the credibility of allegations of sexual assault against a Supreme Court nominee.... more

I recently met with a willing, would-be executioner: a man who said he would gladly kill former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Hillary too, of course.... more

A dear friend expecting her second child recently confided that she had lost sleep wondering if she would be able to love her second as much as she loves her first. My first impulse was to laugh and t... more

For years, my husband has been waiting to share this cinematic moment with our son.... more

It’s either the best things or worst things that happen in threes.... more

A war broke out over a lost T-shirt on our summer vacation.... more

For months, the headlines have been thumbs-down -- way down -- for Facebook.... more

When I shared a story recently about a particularly vulgar piece of anonymous mail sent to me, I wanted to offer an observation about the change I’ve seen in public discourse.... more

There were two words that popped out at me from the initial statement issued by a suburban St. Louis police department after its officers falsely accused 10 black Washington University students of lea... more

When Patrice Billings retired as a police helicopter pilot nearly a decade ago, her former chief sent her a lovely note thanking her for her service and for representing the department with high stand... more

A handwritten note on festive stationery arrived in my work mail recently.... more

Some parenting mistakes are part of a recurring pattern or habit, like failing to be consistent or losing one’s temper. We’ve all been there, and often more than once. But other missteps make such an ... more

Last September, a week before Yom Kippur, a former skinhead sat before the Jewish community whose synagogue he had vandalized decades earlier.... more

White supremacists are busy recruiting a new generation and have devised creative ways to lure children.... more

There are six ways to say “uncle” in Pakistani homes. There’s the standard English word, used to address any South Asian man older than you regardless of actual relation. Your parents’ friends are cal... more