Walk into the unknown and feel the magic of the natural world — I have a good friend, my neighbor, whose habit I admire: she goes into the woods early every morning. Like a musher with her three huskies by her side, she meanders through the forests, occasionally foraging for gems like Tree Lungwort or Black Chanterelle — mushrooms she brings home, dehydrates…

My boyfriend’s mother got me drunk for the first time. I was sixteen. It was a Friday night. We sat in a warm, dark dining room awaiting a “family dinner” — me, my boyfriend, his mom, his dad, and his popular older brother. Filling my wine glass with red, she…

In the days leading up to my fortieth birthday, I occasionally found myself in tears. The same emotional meltdown happened a year ago, right before my son’s tenth birthday. The night he turned ten, I cried myself to sleep. My nine year old daughter, who’s been sleeping in my bed…

We can choose, at any moment, to redefine ourselves — Over the weekend, my nine-year-old reading-reluctant daughter walked into one of my favorite bookstores — Northshire Books in Manchester, Vermont — and decided to buy a book. While this might seem mundane, I’ve been waiting for this moment since she was in kindergarten. Back when she was six, there were…

There is a history of women, subversive and marginalized, who gather to heal, dissent, bewitch or even birth. Alone and together, these women work to save and secure, to sanctify and celebrate. We know these histories. We’ve read these stories. During this unprecedented pandemic, the women came again. For me…

Why Children’s Book Clubs Make A Difference Now More Than Ever For a long while, I’ve held a deep belief that reading, in both a solitary and communal way, has an impact on who we are and how we interact in the world. That guiding notion, along with my love…

We’ve been home for a while now. On many days, children rise and shine and then sit in front of their computers. Let’s refresh the learn-from-home experience. We can enrich the current school model and support our children to get the most out of distance learning. Here’s how: Review before…

Ten Tips to Turn Your Makeshift Homeschool into Bliss With schools closed across the country, parents are frantically putting together a homeschool experience for their children. In many communities, distance learning is on the horizon, but even that experience seems like another unnerving layer for parents and students. …

Do you know the legend of the Holly and the Oak? When I was young and pregnant and in graduate school, one of my courses focused solely on trees and the forests they inhabit. For hours each day the class walked through neighboring forests examining and revering nature’s impressive formations…