Catherine Gigante-Brown

Catherine Gigante-Brown

Bio

Catherine Gigante-Brown is a freelance writer of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Her works have appeared in Time Out New York, Essence and Seventeen. She co-wrote two biographies for Prometheus Books and her short stories appear in fiction anthologies. Catherine’s first novel, The El, is available from Volossal Publishing. You can learn more about her on her website.

Catherine Gigante-Brown Articles

You Can't Go Home Again: A Tale Of A Conflicted Cuban Childhood

I left Cuba in 1949, when I was 11 years old. Back then, I didn't understand why my mother sent me away. I still don't.

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Me? Worry? Confessions Of A Professional Worrywart

All bets were off after 9/11. In a twisted way, it proved to me that worry was fruitless. No one ever saw the terrorist attacks coming.

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“Your left ovary is fine,” the nurse practitioner told me over the phone. “But you have a cyst the size of an orange on your right ovary.” Image: Cathy Brown.

For The Girls: A Fond Farewell To My Ovaries

I thought cancer was behind me. Until I had a weird pain near my left ovary which lasted for several days. It felt a lot like ovulation...Only, at 56, that train had left the station a long time ago.

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Paranoia Is Killing Our Kids' Independence

My husband and I agreed: raising a child with an independent spirit who made decisions for himself was a good thing.

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There are surprisingly few stock photos of women in thongs with "I <3 NY" painted on their butt cheeks.

Tatas In Times Square: NYC Tells Its Desnudas To Cover Up

The Daily News quoted one painted lady as saying, “People come up to us sometimes and say what we do is disgusting,” she said. “But what is disgusting about the female body? They shield their kids sometimes, and I think, ‘Kids come from the female body.’”

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Credit: Flickr/Carole Raddato

What's So Scary About Vaginas?

I asked a handful of women: why are people so scared of ladyparts?

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BFF. Or not.

5 Reasons To Break Up With Your BFF

Like if she steals from you — cash or a boyfriend. Or does something illegal she wants you to be a part of — or lie about. I draw the line at felonies (sometimes even misdemeanors) and you probably should, too.

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Until you're not.

Cancer Blues: You Never Really Get Over It

That’s the thing about being a breast cancer survivor — it’s always there: it never goes away. The scars, the fear that lurks in the back of your mind like a boogeyman. You’re going along nicely, living your merry life, and you’re fine, until you’re not.

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What I Learned About Poetry From My Professor, Audre Lorde

I was 21 –– a Catholic, heterosexual college student, living at home in Brooklyn and still trying to discover who I was. At the crossroads of her life, Lorde knew exactly who she was. She was waging a war against cancer and sharing an old house in Staten Island with her kids and partner. But maybe we weren’t so different after all.

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