Summary: In 2003, I am a 39-year-old single newspaper reporter in Dallas. I refuse to consider becoming a mother on my own. Instead, I wish for what seems out of reach. Love, marriage, then baby.

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Summary: For nearly two years, I studied with eight other women to prepare for my adult bat mitzvah. At age 41, in 2006, I led others in prayer for the first time and read from the Torah. This story in The Boston Globe’s Sunday magazine chronicles my and others’ experiences.
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Reaction: Several readers [...]

Summary: The gift-wrapped 12-by-12-inch package was never a surprise. My brother and I had a system for our birthdays. I’d pick out a record I liked, and he’d point to his favorite in the music store. This is the lead of a personal essay about tracking our milestones in life through those of older siblings.
To [...]

Summary: Some days, Hannah Wilford sobbed uncontrollably. Other days, the teenager seethed with anger. She was angry at the driver of the car that struck and killed Aaron, her 15-year-old brother. She was mad at her parents.
For nearly two years, she ignored her mother’s pleas to talk, and secluded herself in her bedroom after school. [...]

Summary: In 1999, I wrote a two-piece package about sibling loss for The Dallas Morning News called Forgotten Mourners. This piece was a personal essay about how I dealt with the question, “How many siblings do you have?” over the years.
To read this article, published on July 25, 1999, please visit The Dallas Morning News [...]

Summary: In 1997, I biked 230 miles across Israel with a Jewish outdoors group. The trip was both an intensely physical and spiritual experience.
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Photos: See slide show, Israel trip, on my website.

Summary: My book review, published in The Boston Globe, of Hans Keilson’s novel, Comedy in a Minor Key. Keilson’s novel, originally published in German in 1947, was released in English in the summer of 2010.
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Summary: The Forward, a national Jewish weekly paper, published my op-ed that took issue with a Newsweek columnist’s stance that it costs to much to live Jewishly. My take: Temples never, in my experience, have asked me for money just to come through the door.
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Summary: Spending three years as an assistant city editor at The Boston Globe taught me valuable lessons as a writer. Read my Off the Cuff column in the July 2010 issue of The Writer about the lessons I put into practice.

My 4-month-old baby boy nestled in my arms, I walked into the sanctuary hoping to discreetly slip back into a seat by my husband.
“Simon,” Rabbi Howard Jaffe called out in his booming voice. “Come join us.”
It was time for the Aleinu prayer, and our temple’s tradition was to invite children to participate and open the [...]

Summary: We tried a “no gifts” policy for our son’s second birthday party. I wrote about the experience for the Boston Globe magazine’s parenting trap feature.
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Summary: This is one of a growing number of essays I’ve written about my learning curve as a new parent for the Boston Globe’s Parenting Trap feature.
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Summary: In another parenting essay, I write about the decision to deal with our running toddler – without a leash.
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Summary: Our son’s enthusiasm for the chocolate chips during baking prompted this essay for the Boston Globe Sunday magazine.
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Summary: Educators, lawmakers, parents, and others are trying to do more to help rather than punish preschoolers with the most extreme behaviors. The goal: Prevent expulsions from preschools and day-cares and make life easier for both parent and child.
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To hear more on the topic:
Listen to interviews I did on two radio shows [...]

Summary: Hannah Cummins opened her life and heart up to me for this Boston Globe article about her depression and how a program at Brookline High School helped her make a good comeback.
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Reaction: The story provoked many comments on Boston.com and in my email box. Most readers were supportive and lauded the [...]