Plunging into a compelling topic, even one with a tangential relationship to my current book project, is one of the pleasures of writing.Read More

I'm delighted to share Patricia Meisol's guest post about Dr. Helen Taussig, a pioneering physician and the subject of Patricia's biography, A Heart Afire.Read More

With Women's History Month approaching, I took the opportunity to do a little research on how the field of women's history began.Read More

It was fun to discover a convergence of two diametrically opposed characters that brought together two independent strands of my writing.Read More

While looking at the Sargent paintings now on view at the MFA, I entertained a dual fantasy.Read More

Captain Deborah Dempsey's most telling comment was: "It's fun to be the boss."Read More

In last month's newsletter, I ruminated on how women can move history. Now I'm back with more on the subject, specifically Phebe Lord Upham, born in Maine in 1804.Read More

Two years ago I was invited to give a reading in New York. My husband Andrew came with me and, naturally, we added museums and restaurants to the trip. One evening we went to Prune, a wonderful place on East 1st Street (now regrettably closed) run by chef Gabrielle Hamilton and her wife.Read More

This month’s newsletter is about covers and newsletters. That sounds circular, to have a newsletter about a newsletter, but bear with me. First, though, let’s talk about covers. I’m a sucker for a good book cover. Probably you are too. It beckons and promises to transport you to another world. Everything about it – abstract...Read More

I first saw these women at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine. The obvious whimsy of the picture appealed to me, but I found myself thinking about it long after I had left the museum. Did that mean there was some deeper meaning for me and my work? Ida Crie took the photograph. She...Read More