How I’m Staying (Reasonably) Sane During COVID-19
First off, I live in Massachusetts. We’re pretty much in lockdown, with roughly two thousand new cases of the coronavirus daily. My [...]
Journey to Iceland: Day 1, Thingvellir
Thingvellir National Park is formed around a split in the earth where two tectonic plates are quite literally pulling apart. I was [...]
Mt. Monadnock, NH
Mt. Monadnock is named for a geological feature, a monadnock being a mountain that stands alone. On the one hand, it seems pretty [...]
First Hike Brings Taste of Spring and Bunch of Humility
In the Boston area, we are lucky to have the Middlesex Fells as a place to train for bigger, harder hikes. Like [...]
“White Houses”
In this imagined novel, Amy Bloom takes us inside the deep love relationship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and AP reporter, investigator [...]
Appalachian Trail in Western MA
Crossing from Connecticut In late April, Larry and I joined the Berkshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club for an 8-mile section [...]
“48 PEAKS” Launched!
The baby that took me 13 years to birth is now out in the world. Bless Porter Square Books, for all they [...]
My Interview on “It’s All Write With Suzette”
I was all dressed to go, having had my outfit approved by my good friend Meg, when I got a message from [...]
Circe
Madeline Miller somehow got on the inside of a goddess to write this book about Circe, a nymph and a witch, so [...]
Win a FREE print copy of my book!
Goodreads is offering a giveaway of ten free print copies of my forthcoming book, 48 PEAKS, Hiking and Healing in the White Mountains [...]
First Author Interview
I was recently interviewed for cable and YouTube, my first interview as the author of 48 PEAKS, Hiking and Healing in the White [...]
Hero of the Empire
I don’t tend to read history books, but my book group does, so usually I slog my way through them. No slogging [...]
Black Mountain Delights
It’s not easy to find a hike that’s short (4 miles RT,) a good work-out and interesting, but Black Mountain in New Hampshire [...]
Tips for Enjoying Your High School Reunion
Let’s go back a few years. Okay, decades. I’d just entered my second high school in two years, Louise S. McGehee in [...]
Up To Deer Peak in Poland
It was supposed to be a warm-up walk, a test to see if I could hike with plantar fasciitis in both feet. [...]
The Underground River
You know how sometimes you find a character you just take to? Someone you wish well and enjoy reading about? I found that [...]
The Fact of a Body
The Fact of A Body: A Murder and a Memoir, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich's new book is wonderfully written and evocative down to its pores, bringing [...]
Negotiating the Contract
Once you’ve found a publisher, you’ll need to negotiate your contract. The contract itself can be intimidating (trust me, I know). It [...]
Start Your Own Little Fire
Celeste Ng’s new novel, Little Fires Everywhere, is a book that made me think, and sometimes squirm. As proven by her [...]
Deval Patrick’s Lone Walk
The Lone Walk Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts walked down the Grand Staircase of the State House for the last time on [...]
About That Lost Friend
If you’re like me, you’ve lost at least one close friend and your heart still bears the scar. S/he may have dumped [...]
The Invention of Wings
Did you like The Secret Life of Bees? I did. So I was delighted to pick up Sue Monk Kidd’s newest book, [...]
This One’s For Us
It was magical. Senator Elizabeth Warren—I can’t say that often enough—Senator Elizabeth Warren re-enacted her official swearing in down in Washington, DC [...]
Tips on Sprained and Broken Toes
Sadly, I speak from personal experience here. In fact, I’m writing this with right leg raised, the second toe being the one [...]
Enjoying the Labyrinth
We humans like our circles. We have circles of friends. Our stories and films take the shape of a circle in which the [...]
Buck Hill Loop
I’ve taken groups of beginners on a “My First Hike” loop at the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton, MA. It’s great for [...]
North Pack Monadnock in Spring
North Pack Monadnock lies in southeastern New Hampshire, 12 miles away from its brawny, more famous and far more popular cousin, Mt. [...]
Technique for Revision
As you may already know, I’m revising the first draft of a memoir. Since my return home from a three-week writer’s residency, [...]
Signs of Spring
The trees have grown eyelashes. Mounds of ashy grey snow halve overnight. Birds recount their sojourns south, chatter about mating and nests. [...]
Surprise Ending
Do you ever dream about your teeth falling out? It’s such a common dream you can look up various interpretations on the [...]
Just Past Mid-Way
I’ve chopped off the Prologue from my first draft and chucked the beginning of the book. I’ve begun the first chapter in [...]
Sculpting A Book
When last heard from, I was cross-country skiing and trying to spy within the marble of my 1100-page manuscript, a book, the [...]
Fourth Day Away
I’m at Vermont Studios Center an artists’ residence, in Johnston, VT, for the month of February. This is the first writer’s residency [...]
On My Way
Big Blue is packed, gassed up, tires pumped and ready to go. Me, too. We leave Massachusetts and head north, way north, [...]
Train for Spring Hiking
It’s not too early to begin getting your body ready for a hike in May. Generally, three months are required to build [...]
Getting Angry, Staying Friends
This is a subject, especially among women, that needs a lot of fresh air and discussion. Since my best friend of 27 [...]
Can’t Wait to Go
Upcoming Writer’s Retreat Last spring when Vermont Studios Center wrote to say they were awarding me a Writer's Grant to come to [...]
Get Ready for Spring Hiking
Come hike with me in the spring! I’ll be leading a hike for beginners. Which means it's time to think about training, [...]
Sexism Lives On
In our first week at an elite graduate school of business administration, I suspect the other women in the handful of us [...]
Door-Knocking for Deval
I wasn’t sure Deval Patrick would be re-elected Governor of Massachusetts and the thought gave me a knot in the stomach for [...]
Riding The Bus For Women
Celebrating Suffrage and Women Reps Yesterday I accepted an invitation from my friend, Representative Alice Wolf, and spent the day riding a [...]
Marching Up Moosilauke
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WWII B-18 Bomber Crash Site Hike
This was a hike with history. On January 14, 1942 at 7:40 in the cold, dark night, a US B-18 Bomber crashed [...]
Looping Mts. Welch and Dickey
Saturday I co-led my second Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) hike, this time with Robin, the woman who leads hikes all over the [...]
Summer Reading
Light is the word here. I enjoy light reading. Not as a steady diet, but it’s refreshing in between heavier stuff. So [...]
My First AMC Hike
My first official Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) hike after being certified to co-lead was, ironically, called “My First AMC Hike.” Bob, the [...]
Grieving Stephen
The son of a friend died last week. He was 21, the age at which I felt like I had just earned [...]
MA Democratic State Convention
I had a moment of panic when the four of us who’d carpooled together entered the Worcester convention center. Dean sped off [...]
Ruby and Brood Update
Through this now famous red-winged hawk family, I have met the nicest man named Andy. I first met him when I walked [...]
The Savvy Enumerator
What exactly is an enumerator? They come in various sizes, ages and colors. Over one shoulder is slung a black satchel that’s [...]
Watch Like a Hawk
Right now hawks are raising their young. I’ve been aware of hawks, especially red-tailed hawks, since my tenth wedding anniversary when we [...]
Why I Did It
The Four Thousand Footer Club I recently sent off my application for a patch saying I’m admitted to the Four Thousand Footer [...]
I Married a Cowboy—Did You?
Even though we met riding a train, not a horse, and he was born in New York City, apparently my husband is [...]
Take Me Away
I recently started a book—I won’t tell you yet which one—chosen by a book group. The work was non-fiction, a history/biography kind [...]
To Worry Or Not To Worry—That Is the Question
My liver counts have been high, randomly, ever since I had breast cancer, chemotherapy and Tamoxifen. The first couple of times this [...]
Finding Beauty
It’s not always easy to find beauty during a walk at the tag end of winter in New England. As Juniper, an [...]