Huffington Post Articles

In November 2014 Ariana Huffington offered to publish my blog post: The Jerusalem Synagogue Attack, Let’s Talk Truth on the Huffington Post. To say that I was excited would be a gross understatement! It received nearly 4,000 Facebook shares and several hundred comments, many of them quite hostile or negative. It was a huge wake up moment for me on several levels. First: I have always prided myself on answering every comment I get on my blog. I tried doing that initially with the HuffPo piece, but quickly realized that it was not possible to answer some of the overtly negative, anti-Israel/anti-Semitic comments being thrown at me. Second, I realized that being featured on HuffPo was very different than writing from my own safe haven at Tales From the Motherland! The readers of TFTM tend to be very supportive and positive. I write what I want without filters, and I don’t really worry about what others will think. That is very different on HuffPo. While I still write without many filters, I do think more about content. I still hope that my posts will connect with people, but I’m more mindful of who might be reading those posts, and what I want to put out there. I’m also always aware that writing for the Huffington Post comes with a lot more pressure. While I am enormously grateful for the opportunity to contribute, it has left me a bit stuck sometimes, as I navigate what to write and where to put it.

The second piece that I published, On My Father’s Birthday, A Letter To His Killer was both featured in HuffPo and Freshly Pressed on WordPress. It has received nearly 800 likes to date, and been shared more than 200 times. It was FP’ed the same weekend that the synagogue piece was published on HP. That weekend was a whirlwind of comments and feedback! While the Synagogue piece was garnering strongly negative comments, the piece about my dad had me painted as a saint. Neither was true, and the irony had my head spinning for days. It has since been featured on WordPress Discover, as well.

In the weeks following the initial piece, HuffPo published 2 more pieces of mine. Those two and the first were in their “Top Blog Posts” for a few weeks. Shortly thereafter, I was told that they would make me a featured blogger and I could contribute regularly. It has been an enormous honor and I’m grateful for the platform they’ve given me to share my work. Senior Editor, Shelley Emling, has been so supportive and helpful; I’m  grateful to have her in my court!

Posts are in the order of publication, oldest to most recent.

The Jerusalem Synagogue Attack, Let’s Talk Truth (Nov. 2014)

On My Father’s Birthday, A Letter To The Man Who Killed Him (November 2014)

I’ve Become That Middle Aged Woman, Who Uses Baby Talk With Her Dogs

An Open Letter To My Almost Adult Children

When A Friendship Dies

When The Merry Isn’t In Christmas (December 2014)

New Years Eve In Times Square: I Coulda Been A Contender (December 2014)

The Grass Is Always Greener On Someone Else’s Head (January 2015)

Sleep Tight in Your Facebook World, But Do You Like It? (January 2015)

Patriot or #12, Either Way This Super Bowl is a Win-Win (February 2015)

When You Die or My Long and Tangled History With Death (went “viral!”) (February 2015)

Israel… It’s Hard (March 2015)

The Cold Reality That Set in After Last Year’s Ice Bucket Challenge (April 2015)

Why We Should All Be Worried About Honey Boo Boo (May 2015)

Other Mother’s Among Us (Finding Healing For Mother’s Day) (May 2015)

Graduation Day- (AKA: A Parent’s Mixed Emotions On Graduation Day) (May 2015)

Reclaiming My Dad On Father’s Day– June 22, 2015, Father’s Day

Showered With Love: A Surprise Skype Baby Shower- July 9, 2015

Marriage Therapy on Wheels, July 14, 2015

10 Things To Do Or Know When You’re A Tourist In New York City– July 29, 2015

9 Reasons Numbered Lists Bug The Hell Out of Me– August 1, 2015

The Truth About Motherhood I Discovered Now That My Kids Are Grown– August 7, 2015

A Few Things I Forgot About Being a New Mother– September 5, 2015

Falling In Love With My Grandson– September 9, 2015

19 Adorable Show Why Grandchildren Are Special– (HP piece I’m #19)- September 11, 2015

So You Just Dropped Your Kid Off At College– October 2, 2015

The Highs and Lows of Legalized Marijuana– October 23, 2015

Something Slutty This Way Comes, Halloween For Girls- October 26, 2015

What to Do When You See Your Dead Friend In the Produce Department- November 20, 2015

I’m Boring On Twitter– December 7, 2015

When December Holly Isn’t So Jolly– December 19, 2015

A Straight Mother’s Response To Ignorance: December 20, 2015

The Bold Tapestry of David Bowie– January 11,  2016

So Many Men, So Little Time– January 19, 2016

Hug Your Muslim Neighbor– February 13, 2016

After 29 Years of Marriage, I Know This About (A) Marriage– February 18, 2016

Mothers and Daughters, Proof That Karma’s A Bitch– March 19, 2016

Aging: Do The Math– April 15,2016

Prince of Hearts– April 25, 2016

How to Cope With Your Teen’s High School Graduation– May 15, 2016

Malia Obama is Taking a Gap Year, What About Your Child?– June 9, 2016

The Mother of All Heartbreaks– June 6, 2016

Pokemon Go, It Might Be The Zombie Apocalypse– August 1, 2016

What I Miss Most About Robin Williams, On The 2nd Anniversary of His Death– August 11, 2016

Today We’re Making History (Election Day)- November 8, 2016

The Most Important Part of the College Application Process– December 12, 2016

The Weight of Love– December 13, 2016

Why I Think New Year’s Resolutions Are Overrated– January 2, 2017

The March On Washington: Mr Trump, We’re Coming For You! January 17, 2017