This has been a deadly year for weather. After watching the horrifying footage of tornadoes destroy lives, homes, whole towns. I was writing this piece in a Kansas City, MO hotel room the morning of May 25th when my friend Peggy Willenberg called. Peggy’s one of the Twister Sisters, a dynamic blond tornado-chasing duo. You…
The word “daunted” is synonymous with words like “bothered,” “fazed,” “intimidated,” “overcome,” “discouraged,” and “dispirited.” After reading, learning from and totally enjoying Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West, it’s apparent that the book’s two main characters, Dorothy and Ros, lived a life that was completely the antonym of all…
As someone who doesn’t cook, I was especially excited to receive a copy of John Donohue’s Man With a Pan, which simply confirmed my philosophy that women shouldn’t be expected to put dinner on the table every night! The book is a fantastic collection of essays by an eclectic group of men, and is one…
Amy was taken with this poem the minute she read it, and got in touch with author Sheila Packa to find out more about it and get permission to share it. Here’s what Sheila told her about the background of Not Forgotten, from her new book of poems, Cloud Birds. For me, this book of…
One day in 2006, 14-year-old Hannah saw a man in a Mercedes drive past a homeless man, and observed to her dad, Kevin, “If that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal.” Little did the Salwen family know that, motivated by Hannah, they would soon change their lives forever,…
