Beauty, Power & Grace – An Ode to Aretha

Reflecting on the soundtrack to our lives, Aretha was an anchor playing in mine. To me, she was Our Lady of Soul. A break-up, declaring oneself, a liberating moment, all sealed with Aretha belting out R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  A song that has become a familiar worldwide chant of empowerment, ‘I Say A Little Prayer,’ ‘(You Make Me Feel […]

Shove This Up Your Cloud

It feels like I’m living through an ongoing technological revolution. While others yell “Viva la revolution” I’m thinking “Vive la résistance.” I have a unique relationship with technology – none. I change my Apple sign in daily. It’s not even ‘a’ thing anymore; it’s a ‘we’ thing. Anything electronic resists me so intensely there’s a […]

In Praise of Plastic – Memoir on Condom Furniture

First Person essays I 17 July 2018 | The Globe and Mail, Canada’s National Newspaper

When weather forecasters predict a hot day, I’m painfully reminded of an unusual milestone growing up: being stuck to the furniture. In the sweltering summer months of the early 1960s, I would grab a cold pop and sit on the plastic-encased couch, forgetting that my flesh would adhere to the surface. Moments later I would stand up, screaming as […]

The F-Bomb is Ours

Warning: If the F-bomb offends you kindly discontinue reading this post. The f-bomb officially belongs to middle-aged women. Language morphs over time and meanings can alter. This word is not immune to those changes. I hear the f-bomb more often than not as an adjective, void of malice. We started to claim this word in […]

The Journey of Beauty

As we age, we can come to believe that the beauty we once had has faded. What we don’t recognize is that it has transcended energetically into something so much more. Women our age have wisdom, experience and compassion tenfold. There is no diminishing the power and strength that emanates from our maturity, history, and […]

And They Lived Happily Ever After

Meghan and Harry got married this weekend. Good for them. My news feeds have been inundated with reports about the future Princess and Prince. Being a Canadian and part of the Commonwealth countries I’ve grown up with the influence of royalty my entire life, so I’m not that excited about it, but I am happy […]

The Proof Is In The Pudding

I grew up with Bill Cosby.  It was inconceivable back then to imagine his legacy would be one of sexual assault and possibly jail time. He is now a frail old man, and there are others like him, but unlike Cosby, they have not stood trial for their history of sexual offences. Men who took advantage […]