Let’s get things straight: an empathetic person isn’t weak. An empathetic person is strong. Weak people have been all over the Internet and television the past 36 hours. …

My son Anthony Sterling Rodgers, who I called “Lali,” died in my arms on the night of January 11, 2005. He was exactly six months old. In terms of his eyes, they were blue. I have never felt such fierce love as I did for Lali. …

Thoughts on the well-regarded British author — For the privilege of sharing a common favorite book and an interest in natural history with the noted British author John Fowles, I earned a book hurled at my head. Not by Fowles! It began with Wiwaxia and ended with the jacarandas and a cup of tea. My aunt, I…

How many pounds do our stressful, high-pressure, low-reward lifestyles add? — The most stressful job I ever had added between 15 and 20 pounds to my frame. I’m not a big person so this definitely made me fat. …

Losing “everything” and what to do next — After my baby died in 2005, I moved 90 miles east to my hometown, staying in a motel. After two weeks, American Express froze my credit card, even though I was working more than fulltime and paying my bills. I was in so much shock and trauma I didn’t even…

I’d rather be Nixon than many other leaders with better “official” reputations — My Wikipedia entry identified me as a Southern California science fiction writer. For many years, it was the only thing it said about me. Much like other female writers and those of color, little true about us is recorded. Perhaps it is better to be nothing than to be a…

Thoughts from a year-round Florida transplant — We played hooky yesterday and went over to have lunch in the small town where we first moved when we came to Florida from California in early 2020. …

Putting my happily married, multiply-engaged self aside … can people grow beyond these primitive, harmful attitudes? — Reading others’ writing on Medium, I see that I’m far from the only writer who attracts incel, racist, misogynist harassers. …

What does this megatrend really mean? — I consider myself an exceptional person. You should think of yourself this way, too. That doesn’t mean “better” than others. Nor even really, “different.” It means that I consider I’ve done as well as I can for myself personally, up to today, and that every day, I have a commitment…