I believe in the sanctity of privacy. After a shamefully garrulous riff in my 20s, when I put pen to paper or key to screen whatever rot spewed forth, I finally grew up enough to begin erring away from over sharing. This coincided in a way with becoming a mother. Learning the value of protecting … Continue reading
Stories itching to be told
Today I started writing an essay in response to a call for submissions on “The Best Decision You Ever Made.” Was it homing in on the clarinet as my instrument of choice in the third grade? Learning Italian in high school as a means to get to Rome in college? Moving to Washington, D.C., to … Continue reading
The sweetest homecoming
My favorite moment of our first big family trip was when the wheels retracted into the guts of the airplane and Henry pointed out the window, squealing through sucks on his pacifier at the city lights glittering gold beneath us as we peeled through a black sky. My favorite moment was the very next one … Continue reading
The meaning of my every day
A day without my son is like a day without air. How did I breathe before he entered the world? Every night as his eyes flutter toward sleep I lift him in my arms and kiss his cheek, gently pressing my lips to his impossibly soft skin just long enough for him to shake free … Continue reading
“The really important kind of freedom”*
Maybe it’s because I was raised Roman Catholic and the yen for social justice stuck like hot tar to my ribs. Maybe it’s because some of my best friends were social workers in child welfare. Maybe it’s simply because I was in a comfortable enough spot that I could, and thus wanted to, challenge myself … Continue reading
“Her Children’s Keeper”
My attempt to pay tribute to the incredible Davida Ellen Williams, the social worker for Hephzibah Children’s Association who trained Sean and me to be foster parents and guided us through some of our most challenging experiences in foster care has been published. I’m particularly proud of this piece. In reporting another story about another … Continue reading
The cumulative joy of motherhood
Sean held my hand, sealing our napping son within our arms. In 20 days, our boy will have lived a year. Becoming his mother has delivered me into an iteration of myself I’ve been thrilled to discover. It’s been the best year of my life. A week ago Sean and I were getting our tiny … Continue reading
Lake Silverthorn
Much of what’s been on my writer’s mind this past week regards last summer: a summer in which, while hugely pregnant with new life, I confronted the dying and deaths of an uncle and grandma whom I loved very much. Written in honor of my godfather and late Uncle Greg, who died after a brief … Continue reading
Hearts touch through this work
It’s been a dizzying month of getting affairs in order. I’m joyfully relieved that my recent life’s myriad dissonance may be resolving, and am hopeful that this caesura may last at least long enough for me to catch my breath. If I’m lucky, maybe catch a few more consecutive hours of sleep, too. Some of … Continue reading
I want to foster again
Our boy fought and flopped his way to sleep last night. Then, the moment he slept, the dog made herself sick. After another walk around the block to help her get it out of her system, the house finally fell still and my husband and I sat beside one another for a short, sweet while, the white whoosh … Continue reading
Emily Dagostino 