This is the story behind my mother’s left elbow. The way she told the story, when she was little she broke her elbow when she fell off a tricycle. Either she was riding the trike, and her younger sister was standing up on the back, or it was the other…

When a young adult patient with a disability is admitted to the hospital for a serious surgery, their family should not face barriers when seeking information about their status and how to support them. …

My family is at a hotel — my husband and I, and our 18-year-old twin sons. It’s the night before one of our sons is scheduled for spinal fusion surgery. We’ve been given a package of four disinfectant-soaked wipes, with instructions and color coded diagrams explaining their use. Our son…

“I’m bonded with the natural world. And I think this is my role, to enjoy that bond while sharing it with others.” Ella Sorensen, Manager of a bird sanctuary in Utah, in an article posted by the Audubon Society on Facebook. Facebook is crummy in so many ways, but I…

Our cat has lost weight for no apparent reason and after a week of wondering about it, and mentioning it, and everybody agreeing that yes, he’s noticeably thinner, I finally made an appointment to take him to the vet. …

On October 17, 1989 at 5:04 pm, I was in San Francisco, walking away from the building in the Financial District where I worked. I was feeling good about leaving on time. I stepped onto the sidewalk outside the skyscraper on the corner of California Street, next to the old…

I am from blacktop playgrounds, from Bisquick and Formica I am from duplexes, apartments, and rented houses, shag-carpeted, and scoured clean with Comet before moving on I am from the Wandering Jew houseplants tended by my mother, the orange marigolds out front that weren’t her choice, they were planted by…

If I was going to write a letter to a younger me, I’d choose 18-year-old me. I’d have to overcome some resistance, a reluctance to be entirely honest. It would require effort and courage, and I might try to reason myself out of it but it would be important to…

If I could turn back time, I’d invite Mom to my wedding. I’d not worry about what she might do, what kind of scene she might cause. What people might think. I’d write out her name. Not her original name, Anita Harris Carter. The name she chose and used, just…