by Michele Willens | Jul 25, 2023
I have just seen Christopher Nolan’s movie, Oppenheimer, which is powerful and thought provoking. For me, it brought up many emotions: pride in my father’s lifetime crusade to ban all things nuclear, and memories of, and questions about, my own journey to make a...
by Michele Willens | Jul 10, 2023
I guess I grew up nextdoor to Barbie. Our family house sat inches from that of Ruth and Elliot Handler. Eliot was a quiet man, Ruth a dynamo in every way. She loved to play competitive board games with my brother. And talk politics with my equally left-leaning father....
by Michele Willens | Jun 5, 2023
Two of my best friends rarely let me forget that I did not attend their daughters’ weddings. Forget the fact that both ended in divorce. Or that I would have had to postpone plans or fly long distance. Though we remain close, it is clear that my snubs hurt. Like many...
by Michele Willens | Jun 1, 2023
I have been called many things throughout my life. But who knew I was a “taphophile”? Yes, often when people learn that I am obsessed with visiting cemeteries, they let me know there is a name for it. Whatever it is called, the truth is: Whenever visiting a new...
by Michele Willens | May 18, 2023
“The highest gift that man has is art, and I am audacious enough to think of myself as an artist.” —Lorraine Hansberry Those words were spoken by the late (she died at 34), great playwright of Raisin in the Sun. Many years have passed since Lorraine Hansberry’s time,...
