According to Mary’s relatives, she’d had a severe water phobia since infancy. She couldn’t take a bath in a full tub of water or go to the beach. The mere sight of water triggered an extremely disturbing feeling in the pit of her stomach. Mary was so phobic that she was even frightened when it rained and suffered water-related nightmares.…
Do you know why you behave the way you do? Getting down to the core of what motivates your perspective, thoughts, feelings, and actions is key when you want to rewire who you are or how you live. While the nature vs. nurture debate rages on, archetypes—your energy guides—offer a simple way to envision your identity, plus how and what…
What’s wrong with teenagers? Why do many of them take dangerous risks? Why do they care more about their friends than their families? And why do they lead lives of such high drama and intense self-expression? According to renowned psychologist and bestselling author Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., there’s nothing wrong with teenagers. In his new book, Brainstorm: The Power and…
Calling me a hopeless romantic is an understatement. Perhaps because I’m a writer, I spend a lot of time in my imagination. And like most women, I’ve done my fair share of fantasizing about how I’ll meet my Prince Charming. Some of my friends dream of locking eyes over a coffee at Starbucks. For others, their hat blows off into…
For some people, the words yielding and surrender might evoke romance novels—lovers swept away by passion, tearing each other’s clothes off, transported to an idyll of true-love-forever. Or yielding and surrender can raise the specter of submissive women who are ceaselessly compliant, handmaidens in the backgrounds of men’s lives. But there’s another perspective. Surrendering to a partner, yielding to his…
Recently I took my mother to see tap star Savion Glover at our local performing arts center. The hall was packed, mostly with children whose parents had brought them to see the legendary dancer. Predominant in the crowd were students from inner-city performing arts schools. During intermission my mother and I went to the concession stand, where candy was on…
I remember hearing it all the time when I was growing up in West Roxbury, a suburb of Boston—“Why don’t you go out and play?” The fact is, I never really wanted to. I wanted to stay in my room and read. Or watch TV. When I was old enough to take the T into Boston to go to the…
Her Story By JMR I was 37 when I was diagnosed with severe renal failure. That same day, I also learned that I was pregnant with my first child. I had been trying to get pregnant for a few months, after convincing my husband and finally feeling ready. The timing was not perfect, though. I had just started a business,…
