- My first postpartum had me wondering …
October 1, 2026 Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more My Blank Brain When I became a mother, I remember wondering whether my normal, random thoughts — where it would be fun to travel, how long butterflies live, whether I feel more aligned with stoicism or existentialism — would ever come back. It wasn’t when I was pregnant. I don't have particularly strong memories of "pregnancy brain" or constantly losing my keys. But postpartum? My brain felt empty. There was room for when my baby…
- How much magic can you fit into a day?
September 15, 2026 Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Extra Magic Time We just got home from Disneyland Paris. We've been talking about going for at least two years. Waiting until the kids were old enough to walk all day, not need a nap and be tall enough to enjoy most of the rides. Waiting for the new Frozen attraction to open. Finding the right weekend — not too hot, not too crowded, not a Swiss holiday or a French one, not too much time off school. And then, finally, you go. And…
- I got this one wrong
September 1, 2026 Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Better than an Assumption If you saw my Instagram after the Nyon triathlon, you saw the good version: A nice montage of swimming, running, my children cheering me on. The photo I didn't share was this one: me at the finish line. Yea, that’s me on the right there – feet barely leaving the ground, mouth wide open gasping for air. I was exhausted. I was sad. And I was mad. Because technically, I hadn't finished the race. My relay…
- What happens when there is no longer a blueprint?
August 15, 2026 Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Back to New My children go back to school on Monday. I realize that for my French and US readers, August 17th is still very much summer. But in our house, la rentrée has arrived. I’ve written about la rentrée before. In fact, almost exactly a year ago, I wrote about why I find myself using the French word even when I’m speaking English. (For the whole piece and a picture of my first day of school in 1995, it’s here) “Back to…
- I Want to Go Home
July 15, 2026 Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Building an Internal Compass In the past two weeks, I have been on two camping trips. Both ended with one of my children asking to go home. Once we stayed. Once we packed up the tent and drove home. Looking back, I think both were the right decision. This newsletter is about bravery—but perhaps not in the way we usually think about it. It's about learning to tell the difference between discomfort and distress, why our brains don't…
- Directory Dispatch: July Highlights
The Monthly Dispatch: July Upcoming events & features Welcome to July ☀️ After that heat wave, I'm very happy to be enjoying the cooler temperatures, a enjoying the new summer routine. This month, we're continuing our interview series with providers from The Directory — short conversations designed to answer the questions people are often too busy, overwhelmed, or simply curious to ask. In this edition, prenatal yoga teacher Sol Alonso explains why pregnancy-specific movement is about far…
- The Word I Couldn't Stop Saying
July 1, 2026 Adaptation I can still picture the sweater. It was bright blue, and by the end of my speech there were dark sweat marks under both arms that stretched almost to my belly button. I was fourteen years old and had decided to run for president of my class. I gave that speech everything I had. And then I lost. Later, I cried into my teacher's beautiful silk blouse, leaving sweat, tears and probably a fair amount of snot in my wake. Maybe that's why hot flashes make me a little…
- Am I becoming my grandfather?
June 15, 2026 The New Porsche My grandfather loved telling stories about how things used to be. I loved listening to them. Lately, I've found myself reflecting on childhood before smartphones, university before AI, and a world that felt just a little different. And occasionally wondering: Am I becoming my grandfather? I recently read an article arguing that visible abs and toned arms have become the new midlife status symbol. What used to be the Porsche, expensive watch or designer handbag is…
- Why do so many mothers suddenly tolerate less bullshit?
June 1, 2026 Beautifully Complex There was a feeling I struggled to explain after becoming a mother. It wasn’t that I worried more.Or loved more.Or became more emotional. It was that I started listening to myself differently. More. I became more aware of environments.More sensitive to tension.More attuned to risk, emotion, overwhelm, timing, energy, safety. I could sense when something was “off” even if I couldn’t logically explain why. Not off for me.Off for the collective “us.” The magic of…
- If it isn’t Published
May 15, 2026 Publish or Perish In science, there’s a saying: publish or perish. Not because scientists are particularly obsessed with writing, but because unpublished work is invisible. You can spend years running experiments, collecting data, refining hypotheses, failing, repeating, discovering. But until the work becomes language, a publication, a paper, something documented and shared, it barely exists beyond the walls of the lab. Last week, I was at a recurring medical meeting I’ve been…
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