The Past 10 Years: Up Close and Personal

A selection of personal essays and articles that shaped my story

Here are some personal essays I’ve published that paint a picture of what I’ve been thinking and feeling over the past decade. (Note: My own blog/column was Moms Don’t Have Time to Write which turned into Zibby Mag which turned into Zibby’s Highlights.)

And you thought you knew me well from Instagram! Wait until you do this deep dive. Actually — are all these essays taken together long enough to publish as a collection?! Hmmm. I also wrote a memoir in between published in 2022: Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Literature. If you like this, you’ll love that.

Also, I’ve also been organizing all my info today. Looking for press about me? Probably not but if you are, here it is. And if you’re looking for most of the book round-ups I’ve written or presented on TV, click here. (And that was my weekend.)

I hope this helps as you get through whatever challenges you’re facing in your own life — from parenting, loss, and divorce, to falling in love again, antisemitism, restarting a career post-kids, or just finding time to read. Let me know what you think.

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From most recent to oldest. Read from the bottom if you’d rather!

Personal Essays

“Let’s Pretend We’re Having Coffee” (Zibby’s Highlights, 5/2/25)

“Why I Bring Authors and Readers Together” (Zibby’s Highlights, 4/25/25)

“Listen to Your Voice” (Zibby’s Highlights, 3/13/25)

“Let’s Rebuild School Libraries Together” (Thrive Global, 2/17/25)

“Fire Log: What It’s Like in L.A.” (Zibby’s Highlights, 1/31/25)

“The Aftermath” (Zibby’s Highlights, 1/16/25)

“Hanukkah and Christmas Make For a Delightful Mashup - So Why Not Celebrate it All?” (New York Post: 12/21/24)

“On Being Jewish Now in America” (The Times of Israel: 12/12/24)

“What I Felt Watching the Palisades Fire Threaten Our Home” (Katie Couric Media: 1/10/25)

“Betrayed, Daily” (Zibby’s Highlights, 12/3/24)

“11 Thoughts on 11/11: Veteran’s Day” (Zibby’s Highlights, 11/11/24)

“How to Connect or Die Trying” (Zibby’s Highlights, 9/22/24)

“12 Lessons from My Epic Zibby-verse Tour” (Zibby’s Highlights, 9/15/24)

“It’s a Lot” (Zibby’s Highlights, 9/4/24)

“Where were you 10 years ago?” (Zibby’s Highlights, 8/12/24)

“Why Writing Matters” (Zibby’s Highlights, 6/28/24)

“Antisemitic Acts. Are. Not. Okay.” (Zibby’s Highlights, 4/21/24)

“Did You Know I Almost…” (Zibby’s Highlights, 4/5/24)

“What’s a Successful Author?” (Zibby’s Highlights, 3/21/24)

“Women’s Inclusivity is Our Superpower” (Zibby’s Highlights, 3/8/24)

“I Had to Lie to Find True Love” (Vogue: 2/12/24)

“Can Female Friendships Survive Adulthood, Motherhood, and More?” (Katie Couric Media: 2/29/24)

“The Zing of the Perfect Thing” (Zibby’s Highlights, 1/26/24)

“An Antisemitic Troll Tanked my GoodReads Rating” (Zibby’s Highlights, 1/19/24)

“You Want it All But You Can’t Have It” (Zibby’s Highlights, 1/5/24)

“Ohhh, The Path Was Supposed to Be Windy” (Zibby’s Highlights, 12/29/23)

“How Hanukkah’s Message Helps Us All, Especially Writers” (Zibby’s Highlights, 12/8/23)

“A Quick List of What I’m Grateful For” (Zibby’s Highlights, 11/23/23)

“Why Zibby Media Pulled Out of the National Book Awards” (Zibby’s Highlights, 11/14/23)

“Yes, I’m Taking a Weight Loss Drug” (Zibby’s Highlights, 11/10/23)

“Late Night Musings” (Zibby’s Highlights, 10/27/23)

“How it Feels to be Jewish Right Now” (Zibby’s Highlights, 10/20/23)

“Finding the Beauty… in the Darkest of Times” (Zibby’s Highlights, 10/12/23)

“Save Time: Don’t Read This” (Zibby’s Highlights, 10/6/23)

“Doctor’s Orders" (Zibby’s Highlights, 9/29/23)

“The Secret to Making Any Conversation More Meaningful?” (Oprah Daily: 9/6/23)

“Welcome, Class” (Zibby’s Highlights, 8/31/23)

“Facing Our Fears” (Zibby’s Highlights, 8/18/23)

“Getting Back on the Horse” (Zibby’s Highlights, 8/4/23)

“Behind the Scenes of a Bestseller” (Zibby’s Highlights, 7/28/23)

“What’s Your Sign?” (Zibby’s Highlights, 7/21/23)

“Driven” (Zibby’s Highlights, 7/14/23)

“The Neurotic New Yorker’s Guide to Japan” (Zibby Mag, 6/22/23)

“Like a Whisper: What the Zibby Retreat (and the Oscars!) Taught Me About the Power of Women” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 3/13/23)

“When Grief Turns 21: My best friend’s death on 9/11 is now of legal age” (9/11/22)

“My Mother’s Napkin Holders Mean Hamptons Summertime (and Love)” (Dan’s Papers: 8/16/22)

“The Moment That Made Me Rethink My Answer to the Question, ‘What Do You Do?’” (Thrive Global: 7/1/22)

“How to Move Forward” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 5/25/22)

“To My Kids on Mother’s Day After I’m Gone” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 5/8/22)

“How I Relaunched My Career After Spending 11 Years at Home” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 4/29/22)

“War and Words: Why Authors Should Keep Posting About Their Books, Especially Now” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 2/27/22)

“Don’t Rush Kids into Finding Their Thing” (Thrive Global: 4/19/22)

“Here’s What I Learned About Weight Loss and Fitness from a Team of Experts” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 12/24/21)

“How Relentless Work Masked My Anxiety and Ultimately Hurt My Health — and What I’m Doing About it” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 12/22/21)

“Online Holiday Shopping May Save Time, But What Do We Lose?” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 11/15/21)

“Look at My Eyes, Not at My Thighs” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 10/28/21)

“Finding the Friends That Fit” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 10/8/21)

“Insider Publisher Advice: 20 tips for aspiring authors” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 10/2/21)

“Dating Advice for My Teenage Son” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 9/4/21)

“Swamped: An Ode to Email” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 1/11/22)

“Let’s Name Divorce Pain” (Thrive Global: 8/11/21)

“15 Tips on How to Record an Audiobook So People Will Listen” (Writer’s Digest)

“Can We Discuss Masks Being Back?” (Thrive Global: 7/31/21)

“Our Own Memorial This Memorial Day” (Thrive Global: 5/31/21)

“Never Forget” (Thrive Global:5/21/21)

“Robbing the Cradle in Middle Age: How Aging is Affecting My Marriage” (Thrive Global: 4/14/21)

“New Easter Traditions After a Season of Loss” (Thrive Global: 4/4/21)

“What My Audiobook Recording Taught Me About Time” (Thrive Global: 3/30/21)

“How I’m Changing the Literary Landscape and Why” (Writers Digest, 3/25/21)

“12 Tranquilizing Tools That Get (All 4 of) My Kids to Sleep” (2/16/21)

“Thanksgiving Confession: I’m Glad My Kids Are Older Now” (Zibby Mag)

“Would You Trade 20 Pounds for a More Successful Career?” (Zibby Mag, 8/12/21)

"Why Do I Do It? Because This is My Life’s Work” (Zibby Mag)

“How Reading Helped Me Through My Divorce” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 2/3/21)

“How Relentless Work Masked My Anxiety and Ultimately Hurt my Health — and What I’m Doing About it” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write, 12/22/21)

“Too Overwhelmed to Read? This Mom of Four Has Figured Out How to Make it Possible” (The Washington Post: 4/24/20)

“I Risked My Life Getting to Curriculum Night on Time” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 9/26/19)

“10 Lessons I Learned from My Friend’s 9/11 Death” (Modern Loss, 9/10/19)

“How a Psychic Medium Broke Through My June Gloom” (Modern Loss, 6/19/19)

“Time Keeps on Slipping into the Future — Especially as a Mom” (Kveller, 5/29/19)

“A Married Mom’s Misadventures in Online Dating” (Kveller, 5/17/19)

“Moving on Up: A Mother Says Goodbye to Her Little Boy and Hello to Her Young Man” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 5/16/19)

“It’s Time to Teach our Tweens Some Super-Basic Phone Manners” (Kveller, 2/1/19)

“At a Bat Mitzvah the Night of the Pittsburgh Shooting, Celebration Mixed with Sorrow” (Kveller, 10/28/18)

“A Love Letter to That Mom Friend You Don’t Talk to Every Day” (Kveller, 11/9/18)

“Trick or Treating Gives Me Major Anxiety” (Kveller, 10/25/18)

“No Time to Read? 11 Hacks to Change All That” (Kveller, 9/20/18)

“Apple TV Has Turned My Kids into Monsters” (Kveller, 8/20/18)

“Two Waze About it: Is Saving Five Minutes Worth Hurting My Marriage?” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 8/18/18)

“7 Hacks to Make Shabbat in the Summer Easier” (Kveller, 7/27/18)

“July 4th for Moms: What I Learned About Letting Go This Independence Day” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write, 7/4/18)

“Kate Spade’s Death Makes End-of-Year School Craziness Seem Sane” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write, 6/8/19)

“How a DNA That Made Me Feel More Jewish Than Ever” (Kveller, 6/4/18)

“Pro Packing Tips from a Seasoned Traveler and Mom of 4” (Kveller, 5/3/18)

“8 Things You Have to Give Up When You Have a Lot of Kids” (Kveller, 4/3/18)

“Seriously Moms, Let’s Stop Canceling Our Plans” (Kveller, 3/14/18)

“Finding My Voice: How Writing Turned My Childhood Shyness into a Gift” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 2/11/18)

“I Have Four Kids and None of Them Sleep Through the Night” (Kveller, 1/24/18)

“Dear Apple, Parental Controls Aren’t the Answer” (Huff Post, 1/14/18)

“Being Apart from My Kids on Christmas is Torture… and I Don’t Celebrate Christmas” (Huff Post, 12/26/17)

“Traumatized by 9:00 am: How the Morning Rush Makes Moms a Mess” (Huff Post, 12/3/17)

“The Importance of Family Dinners: How Can This Nightly Circus Possibly Be So Beneficial?” (Moms Don’t Have Time to Write: 11/5/17)

“Hey Moms, Let’s Lose Weight Later” (Huff Post, 10/20/17)

“A Mother’s Right to Sanity” (Huff Post, 10/7/17) — the essay that went viral and started it all

Originally Written Under a Pseudonym for Huff Post (2014):

“What I Didn’t Expect to Happen When I Stopped Pumping” (Huff Post, 5/27/14)

“Back on Meds: How Medication Lifted One Mom out of the Darkness” (Huff Post, 4/29/14)

“My Spring Break Flight Attendant Said ‘Don’t Helicopter’” (Huff Post, 4/3/14)

“Leaving My Kids for the Weekend Was Friggin’ Hard” (Huff Post, 3/28/14)

“9 Tips That Helped Me Beat My iPhone Addiction” (Huff Post, 3/26/14)