I’ve been in a bit of a rut recently. I’m sad about what’s happening with our dog. While I’m excited about my book finally being out in the world, I’m intimidated by how much effort goes into marketing, with results that are rarely immediate or even noticeable. Every week, I have a manageable to-do list. Every week, Friday rolls around and the list has not gotten much shorter. Sunday’s New York Times magazine featured a cover article about how retailers... Read more
Several years ago, I drove my daughter Leah to school one icy morning. Because slippery, icy sidewalks are a danger to people like us with fragile bones, I pulled into the parking lot closest to the school entrance, where there are two handicapped spaces. Both spaces were full. This is not an unusual occurrence. One spot is nearly always taken by a teacher who has a permit, leaving only one other spot for anyone visiting the school who also has... Read more
Update: This post refers to people with physical disabilities. I would love to hear hospitality ideas from people who live with intellectual disabilities, hearing and vision impairment, mental illness, and other conditions. If you are a blogger with an expertise in those areas, consider writing a “six ways to be hospitable” post of your own and let me know. I will publicize and link to it! We’re all familiar with the ways that public spaces are made accessible to people... Read more
Every Friday, I post a link to a blog post written by one of my fellow bloggers at Patheos, a web portal devoted to religion and spirituality. I encourage my blog readers to click through to read these posts, comment, and if you like what you read, follow these bloggers as well. Since joining the Patheos team of bloggers in December, I’ve quickly become a fan of Dilshad Ali, who blogs as the “Muslimah Next Door.” Ali has three children,... Read more
Observation 1: I really love public speaking. I had a great time speaking at my book launch party on Sunday, and at a local Episcopal church earlier the same day. And apparently I’m pretty good at it. People laughed at my jokes! My sister said I remind her of Kelly Corrigan, which might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, especially because I have a huge writer’s crush on Kelly Corrigan (and Catherine Newman and Anne Lamott... Read more
Over on her new blog hosted by Religion News Service, my ever-fabulous editor Jana Riess has posted an interview she did with me about my new book, No Easy Choice. Check it out! Read more
I have a short essay on the Huffington Post today offering some very broad advice for people of faith who are considering reproductive technology. I asked a friend who has struggled with infertility (and thus far, chosen not to use any technology for help conceiving beyond a relatively low-impact fertility medication) to read this over before I submitted it. Overall, she liked it. But she remarked that tip #2 “Consider moral questions,” was too short. Because she has, like me,... Read more
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m re-posting this essay that appeared last year on my former blog, Five Dollars and Some Common Sense. I had a fabulous book launch party this weekend and planned to post some photos and other thoughts about it today, but am having some technical difficulties with the photos. Stay tuned! My Valentine’s Day gift [in 2011] was a new wedding ring. My husband actually had nothing to do with this. I came up with the... Read more
Every Friday, I post a link to a blog post written by one of my fellow bloggers at Patheos, a web portal devoted to religion and spirituality. I encourage my blog readers to click through to read these posts, comment, and if you like what you read, follow these bloggers as well. A big controversy is playing out in the news as the Catholic Church reacts to the Obama administration’s mandate requiring Catholic institutions that serve the public to include... Read more
There’s a hazard to “living out loud,” to writing as a memoirist who pens intimate posts in which I try to be honest about my inner life while painting word portraits of my outer life. The hazard is that, when I realize that something I wrote is no longer true, I have to come clean. I have to admit that I was wrong. I wrote a few weeks ago about our rescue dog, Eddie. I wrote that our decision to... Read more
Ellen Painter Dollar
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