Dear Target, Your beautiful red bullseye calls to me, like the sound of a chips bag calls to every child within a two-mile radius of my pantry. The attraction is visceral, instant and natural. Before I know it, I’m thinking about those well-lit aisles and big red carts and white,…
Dear Queer America: Here Is What We Must Do Now That Trump Will Be President
I went to bed last night before Donald Trump was officially the named the next president of the United States because I didn’t know what else to do with myself. The anxiety was too palpable. The dread was too real. I felt like my soul had left my body and…
Dear Attachment Parents: You Aren’t Ruining Your Kids
If you aren’t familiar with attachment parenting, it is a style of parenting often characterized by things such as co-sleeping, feeding on demand, quick response to baby’s cries, and gentle discipline. If attachment parenting isn’t for you, then this post probably isn’t either. And that’s fine. This isn’t an indictment…
Dear Sons: Please Don’t Vote For Donald Trump
Dear Sons, Please don’t vote for Donald Trump. Now that all five of you are of age, you have the beautiful right to vote in this beautiful country. If it’s true that every vote counts, please don’t squander yours. Donald Trump is the face of everything I’ve taught you not…
Dear 26-Year-Old Bride: Your Divorce Will Make You Better
At 45, Clara Herrera ended her 19-year marriage and began a photo series that changed her life. With her daughter in tow, the mother of three roamed around her home state of Texas, posing happily in her wedding gown all over the place (gyms, local hay fields, bridges) and snapping pics…
Dear Teacher of my Food Allergic Child

image: created by author I wish I had written this letter in the Fall, when school started. As a teacher, you are the next most important and influential person in my child’s life. As the school year ends, cards and gifts will flow to you with words of gratitude and…
Dear Esquire, 42-Year-Old Women Were Always Damn Sexy
An open letter to Esquire’s Tom Junod: Dear Tom (now you won’t go calling me “Ma’am” just because I think we can be on a first-name basis, will you Tom?), I’m writing today with a friendly, writer-to-writer suggestion: You might want to get your head out of your arse and…
Dear Family Whisperer: Tips for a Sometime Single Parent
Dear Family Whisperer, My husband farms part-time with his family. He is gone virtually all of May and June for seeding and mid-August to late October for harvest, basically leaving me a single parent. I dread these times of year, and I get very resentful of all of the “extra”…