Category: Bookends

Do you have a great anecdote about your life as a parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, teacher (I think you know where we’re going) or other interaction with a child?  Are people tired of hearing it?  Do you have advice that you want to share that will make somebody’s parenting job a bit easier?  Do you have something you need to get off your chest?  We’re here for you.

Tell us your story.  We’re looking for contributors for our Bookshelf Bookends feature.  And, we want to hear from you.

We like stories that make us think.  That make us laugh.  That make us worry.  That make us cry.  Above all, we like stories that show the ordinary is extraordinary.

So, what to do?  Remember those personal essays you hear about from college applications?  Well, take a look at our site.  You’ll see that most of our non-review articles have that feel to them.  Familiarize yourself with the way we write and take a stab at it.  The only way to do it, is to start.  And, if you need a few pointers, The Grammarly Blog has written a wonderful overview on how to do it, here.

Once you’ve written, and rewritten, you’re ready to submit your work.  Everything that is submitted goes through our Editorial Process.  Nothing is published without going through a review.  You may get some notes from an Editor asking for clarification, revisions, etc.  Once it’s ready, a publication date is set.  Please note, not everything is selected for publication.

Although we do not generally provide monetary compensation for published pieces, we will promote your piece through the blog and our other venues.  You can also highlight your work with us on your resume.

If you’re ready, head over to our Contact page, and send us a note, here.

The Tragedy of Children’s Sports and What You can Do About it

If you’re like me, all discussions of sports begin with trauma. Growing up, I was that cliché, the pudgy kid picked last for every team. My signature sports moment came around fifth grade when the little league team I played on (as the kid in left field who couldn’t catch a fly ball) designated me to be traded to the first-place team. If you’re an athlete, this might strike you as good news. But our league had a practice of making the teams more competitive at midseason by trading the worst player from the last place team (my team) for the best player from the first-place team. Imagine the ignominy of meeting your new teammates: “Hi, I’m here to ruin your chances.”

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Everybody’s Different (Even Fathers)

“But I didn’t know the first dad-gum thing about raising one,” says my dad, who still talks like that, Southernish, with a twinkle. For her part, my mom likes to tell the story of the maternity nurse at Touro Infirmary who—after my folks gathered their things and Mom settled into the wheelchair for the short discharge trip to the car—winked at my mother and grandmother, then turned to my startled dad and offered him the 21 tightly swaddled inches of his firstborn.

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Dear Baby: Books, Family and Life

You’ve spent most of your young life cooped up with us in our small Brooklyn apartment, first by felicity of generous leave policies and then by necessity amidst a pandemic. The world outside, which we gird up to face with our odd masks and anxious glances at people not observing social distance on our regular walking routes, must seem both fascinating and a little frightening.

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A Fearful Father’s Day

When Mr. Alex asked me to contribute to the Bookshelf for Father’s Day, as the old guy looking back on raising three sons, I thought I’d offer some reminiscence about about my kids’ eccentricities. I imagined I’d gently make the point that our kids need to be their own true selves, not our reflections, no matter how attractive we may find the mirror.

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POP Culture Can Make Hard Conversations Easier

“Daddy, what’s death?” This is a question no father (or mother, or grandparent, or caregiver in general) looks forward to, but we all know it’s going to happen sooner or later. However, if you look at it from a strategic angle, possibilities arise for making it a relatively painless encounter. At least in theory.

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Valuing Black Beauty in a White Girl’s World

It took mere days after learning that my wife and I were expecting our first child before I began to worry how society would see that child, and how that child would eventually come to see herself. Yes, through some weird extrasensory perception that I still can’t explain, I knew we were destined to have a girl. And I knew society is not kind to girls, much less to brown-skinned girls.

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