Dealing With My Breast Cancer Gene

Eighteen months ago I had a feeling. I read about the free genetic cancer screenings being offered through my state and felt strongly that I should do it. 

I didn’t have a particular reason for getting genetic testing—I knew I had some family history of cancer but nothing super worrisome—but I felt compelled. When my test kit arrived, I spit into the two provided tubes and dropped them in the return mail. 

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Redefining "Partnership" in Marriage

Several years ago, my marriage underwent a fundamental shift—a total and complete overhaul of how we defined the word “partnership” in the context of our relationship. This shift made it possible for us to not just stay together, but for both of us to thrive as individuals and as a couple. Prior to this shift, I don’t think either of us really believed that was possible.

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You Are Not A Brand

This pressure to distill ourselves down into one easily digestible nugget, as if we were a tagline incarnate, robs us of our nuance. It feeds stereotypes and fuels tribalism by making us believe that people with similar personal “brands” must all agree on everything. It trains us to believe people are simple, one-dimentional, easy to understand, and therefore easy to judge. 

But it’s not that easy. We are all much more than can ever be communicated on social media, and (if we’re healthy) we don’t fitneatly into boxes or stereotypes.

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The Best Way to Prevent Gun Violence

Like many of you, I’ve been grieving the gun violence that is plaguing our nation. I’ve been processing. Trying to find a path forward amidst all the understandable rage and unhelpful social media arguments.

After weeks of mind-spinning, the question I keep coming back to is this:

Why are we framing the conversation about how to curb gun violence as a matter of opinion? It’s not a matter of opinion. There’s data (cold, hard numbers) about which tactics are effective and which are not.

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