When I explore the meaning of an important turning point in my life and share it with a friend or loved one, I’m better known, to myself, and another. Loneliness dissipates. And belatedly, I can acknowledge and express gratitude to someone who offered me a positive, fulfilling new direction. But what about recalling those memorable … Continue reading Another Turning Point

Recently I put pen to paper and in a matter of minutes made note of nine turning points in my life, times when unanticipated events caused me to shift direction in a way that significantly impacted important decisions about my future, not those well considered plans developed over time that led me to select one … Continue reading Turning Points

Public Library Event postponed Nancy Nolan, Bea's publicist here: Bea's appearance at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has been postponed. For now the library is closed. Once a new date has been scheduled, we will let you know. In the meantime, take care and stay safe.

My friend’s son is divorcing, ending a twenty-five-year marriage. Although sad, my friend doesn’t question the decision. He sensed from the sidelines that neither partner had been happy for some time and he was aware of their sincere efforts to work things out.             He and his daughter-in-law had come to know each other well … Continue reading A Protocol Is Needed

I did not realize anger was in the room until they were walking out the door. A step ahead of her, looking away and with an edge to his voice, he said: It’s time for you to just get out. Was I meant to overhear these words? I wasn’t sure, but they surprised me. Only … Continue reading The Throwaway Line

I wish I could think and write more intelligently about adult pornography. The very word looms large on the page or when spoken and is rarely mentioned in mixed company, even among good friends. Some well-known women academics regard it as an unmitigated evil, but the very existence of an industry that draws in many … Continue reading Threatened by Fantasy

         Sometime after my husband's death, I emptied his desk and found a small spiral notebook jammed into the very back of the top drawer, apparently long forgotten. Written on the first page was a date in April, five years earlier, followed by the name of the neurologist who had diagnosed Len as having Parkinson's … Continue reading The Little Notebook

You are trying to decide whether to disclose an important truth, but reconsider when a friend urges caution and suggests that you not take the unnecessary risk. So you reconsider. You decide to postpone the decision, even as you yearn for the release that authenticity would bring. You are stalled by ambivalence. We grow up … Continue reading Truth Telling

When I closed my office door and began to dream of writing a book, friends asked, “Why”? Striving to be truthful, I answered, “To avoid becoming invisible.” They objected, especially those who are younger, not wanting me to feel diminished by growing old. They tried to talk me out of having this concern. But they … Continue reading Invisibility