If you live alone, if your family is scattered far and wide, if you recently lost a partner or spouse, if you can’t afford the plane...
Home Alone
If you live alone, if your family is scattered far and wide, if you recently lost a partner or spouse, if you can’t afford the plane fare to visit family or to enjoy a holiday escape, you may be feeling miserable and lonely, making [...]
Pat Taub
Arlie Hochschild5
Wrestling with Ego
This past weekend I was visited by my brother and his wife, who are doing their best to live fully with my brother’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis. After they drove away, and I reflected on their visit, I was struck by how many times I passed judgment for my brother’s difficulty restraining his hyper-behavior and for my sister-in-law’s [...]
Pat Taub
Domestic Violence Month, Wes Anderson Film, Respecting the Homeless & More!
Domestic Violence Month October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, which coincides with a new Netflix series, Maid, about an impoverished young woman, who, with her toddler daughter, flees her abusive husband. Initially she rejects seeing herself as a victim of domestic violence because, while her husband smashed in walls and verbally abused [...]
Pat Taub
Have We Forgotten How to Talk?
“We’ve forgotten how to talk to each other,” laments Sherry Turkle in her latest book, “Reclaiming Conversation.” Turkle lays the blame on smartphones, which have largely replaced in-person conversation, where “talk” is relegated to texts and emails. These short, scripted exchanges in cyberspace have replaced the deep connections [...]
Pat Taub
The Older Woman Warrior
Who’s the older woman warrior? She’s the older woman, who believes in doing her part to make her community and the world a kinder, more just place. She cares deeply about the planet her children and grandchildren will inherit. She’s not afraid to stick her neck out. She figures she doesn’t have much to lose given her advanced age. [...]
Pat Taub
Understanding Trump’s Appeal
Most Liberals I know scratch their heads in disbelief over Donald Trump’s candidacy. Even though he’s now imploding, what he represents won’t necessarily go away if he loses the Presidency. Chris Hedges in a recent Truthdig column, warns us that if we don’t address the concerns of Trump’s constituency, another right-wing demagogue [...]
Pat Taub