Just think that when I worked at an abortion clinic, we had to turn away people who weren’t sober. I had never known drug users, so the first woman I saw who was seriously on drugs — my coworkers said meth, but I had no basis of comparison to say yes or nay — I took for mentally handicapped, which has its own set of…

Staying in touch with friends is a lot like trying to date: Most people are terrible at it, so you just have to be brave and reach out. One of our friends had a heartbreaking, life-changing loss, so we recently created a shared Google calendar trading who will reach out to her and her family at reasonable intervals. I…

Teaching, even under the best of circumstances, is a super hard job and your first year really makes you wonder if you can endure. A colleague of mine had several mini-strokes from the stress. Just allow yourself to feel overwhelmed without being hard on yourself for having those feelings. And leaving college is hard.…

For real. That's what my office jobs were like, and I decided to pursue nursing because I want to actually be busy and necessary at work. I am still in the middle of that change, but I hope it saves me from the office doldrums.

Gorgeous! Great job, and I could never tell it was your first go!

I wish I could hug you! I can tell you that a distant family member had brain surgery in April and family members report that he is still very much himself, albeit talking more slowly now and needing more sleep.

I am really sorry that happened to you. We have all, to some level or another, internalized some really terrible stuff. The road to good sex, for so many of us, is paved with dismal interactions.

ETA: Now that I’ve reflected more, I am pretty sure that a lot of these ideas in my initial comment came from the fantastic book Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life, by Emily Nagoski. I am putting this out there because literally every woman and the people who sleep with women…

My own personal theory is that realizing you are gay in this society makes you question the dominant narrative in general, which could lead to being more emotionally in-touch. I can only speculate, as I am not a man and certainly have my own prejudices and biases, but my own queerness and coming out process colors my…

I wonder if some it is because so many men are socialized to not express vulnerability, or silliness, or anything other than stone-cold competence/domination. Good sex is a creative process, with the participants curiously trying new things, reacting to the other’s reactions, innovating, sometimes laughing and a…

At the doc, also ask them to check your iron and vitamins D and Bs too. Too few of one or all of those can affect hair.

I just finished anatomy and physiology, and this comment is fantastic.

Why does every encounter with cancer have to be describe as a battle?  When you’re 89, something’s definitely coming for you and I don’t believe that it must inevitably be seen as a battle lost.

I remember all the same stuff. I don’t intend to micromanage my child, but I won’t just dump him into any childcare situation like my parents had to. Everyone asked why we waited so long to have kids, and the biggest part was being able to afford expensive childcare that allowed us more opportunity to see what happens…

Thank you for the suggestion! That will be the perfect book to round out the ‘curriculum!’ I intend to start by using the series as a junior introduction to the concept of privilege (i.e., sure, Pa worked very, very hard, but the land they proved up was literally taken from Native Americans and Native Americans’…

SPOILERS!

I adore the books and think it’s an important portrayal of the common attitudes of the time. Readers should also understand that Wilder prettied up the horrifying frontier stuff and made her books more of feel-good advertisements for farming.

Long shoots with condoms lead to chafing that can increase the likelihood of contracting infections, plus they already have a rigorous STI testing protocol.

I keep feeling really baffled that Anthony Bourdain isn’t in this world anymore — no more tweets or books or episodes to pop into my day. It makes me so sad, especially because a lot of my friends and family struggle with depression and suicidal ideation. I hope they hold on.

Thank you for doing this hard work. I hope you get some relief.