Catherine Gigante-Brown

You realize pretty soon that everything other than cancer — i.e. missing a train, being late to your dentist appointment — is no biggie compared to the suck factor of chemo.

Although America’s “lying in period” fell by the wayside in the 19th century with the disappearance of the frontier, it’s alive and well today in many cultures globally. Seclusion traditions where both mother and child recover and bond are still the norm in many cultures worldwide.

Makeup and I have always had a love/hate relationship: I love it; it hates me.

I dreaded putting him back on Concerta in the fall but I knew I had to. Or did I?

Content Notice: Death

I’m a firm believer that Tiny Kindnesses can change the world, one sweet, loving gesture at a time.

8. Educate, don’t fixate.

At first, I felt like an abandoned ten-year-old, dropped off at a remote summer camp—with the extra added attraction of no cell phone reception or Wi-Fi. I thought the hardest part of the weekend was going to be picking out a robe. Boy, was I wrong!

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.

I try. I really do. But whenever I attempt to embrace my husband Peter’s Cuban culture, I always screw up.