Published in Atta Girl·PinnedMember-onlyHow I Got My Dream Job At Elle Magazine In The ‘90sA creepy ad for Love’s Baby Soft, JFK Jr. and the Peter Pan Bus I remember the day I fell in love with magazines. It was 1983, and I was in sixth grade. My family was stationed in Spain because my dad was in the Navy, and my best friend…Nostalgia12 min readNostalgia12 min read
Feb 1, 2022Member-onlyI Like Imagining My Husband’s DeathIt’s good practice I like to think about what would happen if my husband dies. I do this because my husband dying is my worst nightmare, something I’m terrified of but know is inevitable, but the prospect of his death is so utterly paralyzing to me I think about it…Dark Humor5 min readDark Humor5 min read
Jul 21, 2021Member-onlyHow Can We Help Women Recognize Abuse In Real Time?As opposed to waking up 20 years later and being like, yeah, that was really messed up. If I had a superpower it would be to grant myself the ability to go back in time and punch someone who wronged me in the face. The thing is I can’t go…Sexism5 min readSexism5 min read
Published in Atta Girl·Jul 1, 2021Member-onlyThe Least Together Person You Know Is Plugging Her Life Coach Biz on InstaLuckily I’m here to tell you how to get shit done for real. I’m no Instagram life coach but that won’t stop me from dispensing the following piece of equally unqualified advice. If you, like me, can not get shit done despite having a billion things you want to do…Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
Published in Atta Girl·Jun 16, 2021Member-onlyConfessions Of A Reply GuyAs a GenX-latch-key kid who had to find her own entertainment, replying to any random Twitter post I see seemed fun and harmless. Then I realized I’m an adult. Growing up as a GenX kid with absentee parents meant I learned to fend for myself early in life, not only…Gen X4 min readGen X4 min read
Published in P.S. I Love You·Apr 5, 2021Member-onlyMy Dog Got Me Through My TraumaFor every pet owner, there’s one animal against whom all others are measured. For me, it was my dog Abercrombie. Then we got Brian. — Abercrombie was a black lab mix puppy my dad brought home after he saw a note posted on the bulletin board at the Pentagon where he worked. We’d always had black lab mutts in our family, their fates a sad mix of heartbreak. …Dogs10 min readDogs10 min read
Feb 6, 2021Member-onlyPlumAbout that viral essay As it turns out, many of you do care. A confluence of events led to my publishing that essay. The previous week I’d heard that one of my former colleagues from a different magazine had been fired from The Atlantic. She was my idol. She’d once…Personal Essay10 min readPersonal Essay10 min read
Jan 27, 2021Member-onlyI Left My Career in Prestige Media Because of the Shitty Men in Charge and They Are Still In Charge and Still Fucking UpI had the plum job. The top of the masthead of one of the most prestigious and respected publications with more than a 150-year-old history. I left because I blew the whistle on my boss for doing something unethical then abusing the staff and undermining the editorial process during which…Feminism14 min readFeminism14 min read
Published in Atta Girl·Jan 14, 2021Member-onlyHow To Enjoy TikTok If You’re Old Enough To DriveIt’s cats in wigs. Cats in wigs! I’m a 49-year-old lady who still doesn’t know how Instagram Stories work, and I’m not going to learn. So it came as a surprise to me to discover that I love TikTok. Like most people my age, I ignored it for a while…Humor5 min readHumor5 min read
Published in Atta Girl·Dec 2, 2020Member-onlyNormalize Sleeping In Separate Bedrooms Like Old-School HollywoodGetting adequate sleep is romantic. — My preference is to live in a gothic estate where my bedroom features a wood burning fireplace and my night-time routine includes brushing my hair in front of my vanity while wearing an ostrich feathered robe. As I am a normal person and not Lady Mary from Downton Abbey, I…Marriage5 min readMarriage5 min read
