“Memory, in short, is engraved not merely by the life we have led but by the life of the mind…by all the lives we so nearly led but missed by an inch, and—if we grant enough leeway to the imagination—by the lives of others, which can cut into ours every bit as sharply as our own experience.” – Anthony Lane, writing about W.G. Sebald in The New Yorker (May 29, 2000)
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Category Archives: Motherhood
The memory keepers: Remembering September 11th—and World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10th
My thoughts this weekend, along with much of America and many around the world, are on 9/11, remembering, mourning, thinking about what happened ten years ago and what has happened since. Two wars, much grieving, many shifts, small and large, … Continue reading
Posted in Memory, Motherhood, Suicide, War, Writing & Reading
Tagged 9/11, Aaron Fein, children, depression, Edwidge Danticat, grief, literature, suicide, White Flags, World Suicide Prevention Day
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My Father’s Guns (part 4) – Final Installment
©2007, originally published in Center: A Journal of the Literary Arts, Vol. 6, “My Father’s Guns,” by Kara Frye My Father’s Guns IV. Travel back. The early eighties: I might have been ten or eleven, and Dad had recently been … Continue reading
Antidepressants—and Sex & Motherhood—in the News
During the notorious summer lull in “serious” books, I have found a number of interesting articles to feed my brain in recent weeks on topics as varied as depression, divorce, subjectivity, sex, and motherhood. These essays—and their subjects—overlap and bump … Continue reading
Mysteries of childhood—avid reader, cannot read
Here I am, back on blog, a worried mother twisting her memory to remember what happened when in her young son’s life. Where does the trail begin, if I want to understand what he is struggling with now? Words are … Continue reading
Thoughts on reading, breathing, writing & grief
Barnes and Noble has demoted its literary journals, shifting them further in and narrowing their shelf space, during my recent period of inattention. Of course these facts are unrelated: my distraction—consumption—by family life and my local B&N’s shelf make-over. Yet, … Continue reading
Posted in Memory, Motherhood, Suicide, Writing & Reading
Tagged Aleksandar Hemon, grief, memory, motherhood, Rachel Cusk, reading, suicide, ulnar nerve, VIDA, women writers, writing
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Ulnar-nerved Mama—when you want to be a superhero
Here I am at the computer, wondering whether the internet, particularly its subset, or offspring, known as the blog, should be classified as heavy machinery, which I’ve been warned to refrain from using. The doctor seems to think I can … Continue reading
Posted in Memory, Motherhood, Suicide, Writing & Reading
Tagged depression, medical, memory, motherhood, reading, suicide, superheroes, ulnar nerve, writing
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The legacy of suicide – Mark Madoff redux
I usually save this space for original essays (using tumblr—karakrauze.tumblr.com—for interesting articles, quotes, and tidbits). But The New York Post, admittedly not my usual go-to paper, recently published a story about Stephanie Madoff that speaks to the legacy of suicide—the … Continue reading
Posted in Memory, Motherhood, Suicide
Tagged "Madoff's Ultimate Victim", "The Madoff Tapes", Bernie Madoff, grief, Mark Madoff, memory, motherhood, Stephanie Madoff, suicide, suicide survivors
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From Russia with love—unexpected gifts and the open horizons of youth
Last week I met Cynthia Ozick, stood within (almost) spitting distance of Meryl Streep, and received a surprise package from Russia. First of all, I would never, ever spit at Meryl Streep. She is amazing. Since I first saw her … Continue reading
Posted in Memory, Motherhood, Poland, Russia, Writing & Reading
Tagged Cynthia Ozick, In My Mother's House, Kim Chernin, memory, Meryl Streep, Moscow, motherhood, russia, women writers
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A gulf to fall into: suicide in the house
My father was a difficult child. Already I forget where I learned this. I can almost hear my aunt telling me in her matter-of-fact way. But then I see the tiny, cramped script of my grandmother’s journal. But, no, the phrasing … Continue reading
Breast cancer, mon amour
The other day, about to enter the women’s locker room (a too-irregular occurrence), having dropped off my younger son at preschool, a sign caught my eye: “Coffee Talk” Support Group for Women with Cancer. I notice the sign each time … Continue reading
Posted in Memory, Motherhood, Suicide
Tagged breast cancer, grandparents, grief, memory, motherhood, suicide, writing
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