Palliative care, cross-country moves, and whiskey in a Mason jar: Ariel Gore’s “The End of Eve”
Ariel Gore’s memoir, The End of Eve, describes the complicated role of caretaker thrust upon her when her mother Eve is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Their relationship has been fraught with emotional manipulation and abuse since Ariel’s childhood. Now that she’s dying, Ariel has to confront their relationship whether she’s ready to or not — and she has to move across the country to do it.
The most bad-ass, super-personalized Father’s Day gift of all time
If you’re wondering what to get your dad for Father’s Day and thinking “what do I get for the man who has everything?” allow me to answer that question for you with the most bad-ass, super-personalized gift of all time. I got this for my father last year, and he totally dug it. Here’s what you do…
How my pink-loving son made me confront my weird gender biases
In our household, the lines of the past that steadfastly identified what was considered “man” and “woman” responsibilities were more opaque. It’s not the easiest job in the world, but to be honest I felt pretty good about being what most people would label a “modern dad” and I wore that title like a badge of honor. My title was put to the test however the day my wife brought a particular hula monkey toy home for my son…
Remember the lesbian triad wedding? They’re pregnant!
Those of you who read Offbeat Bride may remember Kitten, Brynn, and Doll’s rainbow garden of poly love three-bride wedding that we featured last fall. Well, it turns out that the triad are expecting a baby!
What to expect when you’re the first of your friends to have kids
Throughout my pregnancy I’d sit with my friends, often at a bar, sipping orange juice and Seven-Up and suspiciously eyeing my other female friends who weren’t drinking. I watched drinking patterns to see whether or not I could “score” a maternity leave buddy for at least part of my year as a stay-at-home mom. Although I have many close friends who often act as designated driver, no one was pregnant while I was. I have a handful of mom friends who are at home right now, but they all live outside of the city and on average are a fifty-three minute drive away.
How do you talk about deal-breaker topics?
(Un)Fortunately, we can’t always convince everybody to agree with our personal brand of freedom and equality. By now I have realized that screaming “This is so unfair! Why don’t you want to understand?” is not the smartest way to begin any kind of conversation. How do you cope with constant mentioning of idealogical deal breakers — homophobic, racist, misogynic, and many other discriminatory comments — with people you can’t necessarily break things off with.
Family of four moves onto boat to find path again
When my husband and I met ten years ago on Orcas Island, we would spend a considerable amount of time dreaming of living alternatively. The thought of a house in a neighborhood bored us to tears. We wanted different, we wanted a little hardship in our living, and we wanted to physically work for what we had. The standard American way of living never looked that lovely to us. And then one day it all became clear. This little family of four + one old lab needed a boat.
Creating a safe and happy home in a dangerous space
We very intentionally moved to our current home after a series of not-quite-right trials elsewhere in the country. In such a site, we saw our lives unfolding with love, adventure, and fresh air. And then, we lived in the home for a year, and realized things were not the way they had first seemed. The less pleasant characteristics of our neighborhood began to creep in, and their severity ranged from small to glaring.