Sometimes, when you talk about people, it’s gossip. Sometimes, it’s not gossip, says author Elizabeth Strout. “I have never found anything in this world as interesting as people. I like to talk about them. I like to write about them.” I heard Elizabeth Strout speak at Arts & Letters Live at the Dallas Museum of […]
Archive | families RSS feed for this section
Be kind and considerate
by resolutewoman on September 29, 2022 in families, friends, kindness, Uncategorized
Why do people act the way they do? Sometimes the way people act seems complex and confusing. “You have no idea what has happened to that person you just passed on the sidewalk….Extraordinary things happen to people,” says Elizabeth Strout, one of my favorite authors. I heard Elizabeth Strout speak at Arts & Letters Live […]
Presence is power
by resolutewoman on September 17, 2022 in character, courage, families, friends, Uncategorized
Pay attention! I know it’s important, but often I find my mind wandering when I’m talking to a friend or with a group of people. Michelle Huneven in her book Search has a good reminder. ”The most powerful person in any room is the one most fully present. Presence is the source of power,” Huneven […]
No more secrets
by resolutewoman on September 3, 2022 in advice, families, friends, secrets
“Secrets work on me like splinters. I like them out.” These words are from a delightful book by Michelle Huneven. It’s called Search, and it’s about a search committee looking for a new minister for a progressive California Universal Unitarian church.
Peace of the parrot and the chickens
by resolutewoman on August 16, 2022 in animals, families, peace, Uncategorized
I am returning to Dallas from a visit with my brother James and his wife Jeany. They live on nine acres in Los Lunas, a small town outside Albuquerque. However, their home and the acres that surround it seem worlds away from Dallas. We gather eggs from the chickens and cook them for breakfast. We […]
Friends help
by resolutewoman on August 2, 2022 in families, friends, health, Uncategorized
My son Jay has COVID. I think he will be okay, but I am so tired of this pandemic—and I am a bit worried. Recently, I have complained to a couple of very good friends. Friends help! As Eeyore once said, “After all, one can’t complain. I have friends.” Friends are great—especially friends who will […]
Give someone a hug
by resolutewoman on July 30, 2022 in families, friends, love, Uncategorized
As Winnie the Pooh once said, “A hug is always the right size.”
The whole human family
by resolutewoman on May 31, 2022 in families, friends, love
“The Golden Way is to be friends with the world and to regard the whole human family as one,” Gandhi once said. I found this quote in Lisa Congdon’s book You Will Leave a Trail of Stars. –Joy
A walk in nature
by resolutewoman on April 14, 2022 in adventures, beauty, families, hope, Uncategorized
I love my walks in my neighborhood in Dallas, but I love even more walks in New Mexico. And, I’m in New Mexico visiting my brother—and we are taking walks! As John Muir once said, “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” Or, she seeks, of course! –Joy
The heart of empathy
by resolutewoman on March 10, 2022 in character, families, friends, Uncategorized
What is empathy? Christopher Myers, in his introduction for Home Is Not a Country, offers one answer. “It seems to me,” he says, “that this knowledge—that you could have just as easily been any one of a hundred other people—is at the heart of empathy. It’s the realization that every person you meet, or see […]
What’s this site about?
We wrote our book and we’re writing our blog because we were frustrated. We were frustrated with experts who try to tell people how to lose weight, raise their children and improve their marriages—and be a success—in 10 easy steps. In three weeks. In one book.
Our self-help book and blog are for grownups—for women who know that there are no easy answers to life’s complex problems—that finding solutions requires some self-knowledge and self-searching and hard work.
We want to help women discover their own answers and live with them as their guide. We want to help you and other women Help Yourself!
We write about making changes and also about many other issues important to women, including families, friends, work and food.
