Angelina Jolie's Breasts and the Bravery of Letting Go
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"I think she's brave," I said. "I think she's very brave."
Angelina Jolie's mom had died of ovarian cancer in her 50s, and genetic testing showed that Angelina was positive for the BRCA-1 gene mutation, which not only raised ...
Auditing America's Political Integrity
The recent scandals swirling inside the beltway seem to have come one after another—Benghazi, the AP records seizure, the IRS audits. While investigations continue about the details of each, the incidents have been enough to raise bigger, broader questions ...
Stay Sexy or Else? Well, Please Forgive These Mommy Hips
Some Christian marriage conferences and self-help books tell us it's up to the wife to stay looking great and try new things in the bedroom, to keep her husband satisfied and her marriage strong.
Mary DeMuth recently critiqued the popular "smoking ...
Desperate for Their MRS. Degrees
In the mid-90s, at 18 years old, it never occurred to me that a woman would go to college for the primary purpose of securing a spouse. Even attending a conservative Christian college, I never heard the term "MRS. degree" until many years later, when ...
'The Office' Shows Even TV Romance Isn't Picture-Perfect
For me, it wasn't love at first sight. The first time I ever watched The Office, the scenes felt awkward and the staff of Dunder Mifflin seemed weird. But it didn't take long before I fell for those quirky characters, and I've been watching ever ...
The Double Shock of Unexpected Pregnancy
"Nightmare."
"We're pissed."
"Like cancer patients with only months to live."
What catastrophic life event, we might ask, could provoke language of such profound hostility and dread?
Pregnancy. Twins!
A Babble blogger, ...
Prom's Biggest Drama Queens? The Adults
Along with prom comes angst, materialism, and drama. As much as we tend to associate those issues with teens attending the big dance, the grown-ups end up just as guilty. As they take pet prom issues far too seriously, parents and teachers indulge in plenty ...
Be the Nosy Neighbor
"The best defense against modern-day slavery is a vigilant public. Be the nosy neighbor."
That's what anti-human trafficking activist Kevin Bales wrote in his book, The Slave Next Door. He had to instruct us to be nosy because these days, we ...
Are Women Really Saved through Childbearing?
During a panel discussion at my Christian college years ago, one scholar explained that bearing children is God's plan for womanhood, referencing 1 Timothy 2:15—"Women will be saved through childbearing." A graduate student stood up and ...
The Good, the Bad, and the Terrorist
In the weeks since two bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, we've learned much about the two young men first introduced to us as "Suspect 1" and "Suspect 2" in blurry images released by the FBI. The ongoing investigation ...
Where Have All the Women Leaders Gone?
I kissed dating goodbye when I was 19 years old. For me, the whole purpose of dating was to find a husband, a life partner, and on one fine fall day, I decided it was foolish to try and find a suitable match when I didn't even know myself. Who would I be ...
'Crazy Talk': How We Characterize Mental Illness
As a writer, an editor, and an advocate for people affected by mental illness, I was deeply encouraged to learn of a new entry in the Associated Press Stylebook, offering guidelines on how to describe and characterize mental illness. As the definitive guide ...
Runaway Mom and the Madness of Midlife
In one picture, Brenda Heist smiles, with round cheeks and dark brown eyes. In the next, taken 11 years later, her face is sad and sunken, framed with stringy blond hair. As disturbing as these side-by-side photos appear, more chilling is the story that catapulted ...
Sorority Syndrome: Girls Gone Mean
People are surprised when I admit that I belonged in a sorority in college. I wore the T-shirts, sang the songs, learned the handshake, went to the parties… the whole thing. Sororities have such a negative stereotype that it's hard for some to imagine ...
The Good Heart of the Adoption Movement
At age 34, I'm trendier than I've ever been. When my husband and I adopted our son in 2008, we didn't know anyone else whose family looked like ours. We were more oddity than poster family. But, by 2011, when we adopted a second son, the evangelical ...






















