Creating My Father’s Legacy: Martin Elkort’s Photography

In the spring of 2014, I stepped up to a podium in the Brown Auditorium Theater of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The place was full and the audience attentive, expectant. They had just seen my documentary, “Martin Elkort: An American Mirror” about my father, and I was unsure Read more

Don’t Leave a Voicemail Unless You’re My Mother

Even with this clear instruction recorded on my phone’s greeting, invariably, friends and family will still leave me little messages that sound something like this–not ranked in order of annoyance. “Hi, it’s Karen. I know I’m not your mother, but please call me.” “Oh, hi. Ha ha. Funny. Call me. Read more

I Call My Daughters Pretty ALL the Time

I have two little girls, and I tell them they’re pretty all the time. I’m their daddy, and I think they really want me to see them as pretty. So I acknowledge that I do in fact think they’re pretty. I think they should grow to want to receive regular Read more

Heirloom Diet: A Letter in Four Parts

  I. It’s spring and you’re holding a lime margarita. Pedestrians pass, wearing black sequins and riding boots. Next door, a bar is playing “Wagon Wheel” and the sun is down, glowing like hot coal. You’re wearing jeans, a cardigan and dark lipstick. “You look pretty, Momma,” I say. “Yeah,” Read more

When Half a Brain is the Only Option

My daughter has half a brain. No, really. She does. Allow me to explain. Sasha arrived on a Friday morning, in late-February. She was three weeks early and weighed 4.5 pounds. Aside from her low-birth weight, she was perfect. Words I used to describe her babyhood included happy, giggly, curious, Read more

10 Tips to Deal with Grownup “Mean Girl” Friends

“I’m sorry that people are so jealous of me. But I can’t help it that I’m popular.” ~Regina George This weekend I was in one of my favorite book haunts, Goodwill’s 50% off Saturday, and stumbled across a copy of Queen Bees and WannaBes, the inspiration for the great Tina Fey Read more