As every writer knows, home the key to our personal mythology. The name Rosebud emblazoned on a sled—a rich man’s vivid memory of childhood. Gatsby’s mansion in West Egg, a symbol of his endless striving for acceptance. Mrs. Dalloway’s musings on her soulless marriage, as she sets the table for
From Sanctuary: The Inner Life of Home In this interview from the book, Sanctuary: The Inner Life of Home, award-winning writer, filmmaker, travel guide, and storyteller Phil Cousineau talks about the joys and challenges of homecoming — the oldest tale in the world, repeated from The Odyssey to The
By Frank Calderale Time is a riddle that runs beneath the surface of our lives. We watch our infants grow into toddlers, pass through the long, blissful stretch of childhood, sun-drenched and happy, then endure the endless dramas and quandaries of adolescence. Our offspring are the center of our lives,
By J. Ruth Gendler As an artist and writer, student and teacher, I have visited the Town of Qualities, written directions to the Land of the Imagjnation, lamented the exponential growth in the Lands of Glittering and Compelling Distractions, and most recently, become a sustaining member of the Library of
By Valerie Andrews More details Colored engraving after Modern Woman: Young Women Plucking the Fruits of Knowledge or Science (1893) by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926). Mural for the Woman’s Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois Dear Reader, This issue is about the healing power of home—how we learn
As the pandemic shifts gears, we’re bombarded by bad news — mass shootings and domestic terrorism, inflation and food shortages, rising energy prices and an escalating war in the Ukraine. Home, we have discovered, can be a refuge or a battleground — its status changing in an instant. It’s time to consider our search for a safe haven in uncertain times.
During last winter’s endless cold, breakthroughs, and lockdowns, Mr. Covid paid our family a visit on Christmas morning. I was so sad. No grandchildren, no gathering, no Christmas as planned. But (shhh, don’t tell anyone), a teeny little part of my grandmotherly soul was relieved. I would not have to witness the over-the-top largesse that is the way of the world these days nor deal with the tsunami of lifeless plastic toys. I am not alone. My feelings are shared, albeit quietly, among my cohort of Nanas and Nonas, Omas and Grandmas. It’s time to consider the astonishing range of benefits children get from playing with traditional toys.
What is home without a familiar shadow at our feet? At Reinventing Home, we can’t get enough of cats and dogs, so we were very pleased to receive two inspired anthologies from Notting Hill Editions. On Cats, compiled by Margaret Atwood, and On Dogs curated by Tracey Ullman, feature delightful paeans to our pets by those with literary pedigrees. These books explore what we learn from our animal familiars—and why it helps, sometimes, to view the world from a four-legged point of view. And they also reminds us why pet lovers, in general, are healthier, more creative, and have more fun. But who knew reading about them could be so enjoyable?
While strolling through a park in Berlin, Franz Kafka met a young girl bereft because she’d lost her doll. To console her, Kafka explained that the doll was off on an adventure and had even sent him a letter! When the child demanded to see it, Kafka went home and composed it. Over time Kafka sent many letters from the doll, taking great care to fill in her back story—how she had grown tired of living with the same family, wished to travel, then became engaged and married.