Category Archives: My story

Race to Somewhere

Posted on 04/28/2013 by

An open letter to my students at Harvard: Some of you are upset with me for writing a piece at Cognoscenti in which I questioned the value of our punishing, sometimes brutalizing “race to the top” admissions process to elite … Continue reading →

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Two Degrees of Separation From a Bomber

Posted on 04/23/2013 by

A TIME.com column I wrote today with my husband, Nicholas Christakis: We spent a tense hour last Monday checking Facebook and Twitter to account for all 400 of our students at Harvard College, several of whom had been running in the marathon … Continue reading →

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My Big Fat American Government

Posted on 04/19/2013 by

Hey, props to Boston! Taxachusetts, I heart you. Gimme some B-I-G government! O big/bloated/corrupt government-shunners, O bombastic, ignorant Tea partiers, O federal trough-slopping hypocrites… come on, just admit it. Didn’t we all see this week what robust public investments in health, … Continue reading →

Posted in My story, Public Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Little State That Could (or: More Warm Fuzzies for Mass-holes)

Posted on 04/17/2013 by

I’m re-posting something I wrote last year, about my home state, that seems especially appropriate today. Enjoy. (I hope it goes without saying that I’m not trying to make light of recent events, but I am thinking rather fondly about … Continue reading →

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A Boston Patriot

Posted on 04/16/2013 by

(Update: I just learned that the sister of one of our dining hall workers here at Harvard College was among the victims. My heart goes out to her devastated family.) The Shot heard ’round the world. The cry, too. My … Continue reading →

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Use Your Words

Posted on 04/10/2013 by

“Words are supposed to hurt. That’s considered a legitimate way of fighting things out. And what did it replace in the historical scene? It replaced actual violence. Words are supposed to be free so we CAN actually fight things out, … Continue reading →

Posted in Children/Teens/Young Adults, Erika @ TIME.com, Harvard-related, My story | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Gone Maple Sugarin’ (Instagram version)

Posted on 03/19/2013 by

Apparently my life would be richer with Instagram. My kids keep telling me to get (an?) (on?) Instagram. I think it’s a graphical Twitter, which isn’t as illuminating to me as you’d think. This stuff confuses me. I was very … Continue reading →

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On Losing a Friend

Posted on 03/08/2013 by

My Friends are my estate. Forgive me then the avarice to hoard them. -Emily Dickinson I lost my oldest friend two weeks ago to Multiple Sclerosis, a friend I’ve known for 38 years, since I was twelve. It’s hard to … Continue reading →

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After the Storm

Posted on 02/09/2013 by

We’re just digging out from the blizzard and the sky is already doing its gaudy winter thing again. It amazes me how quickly things return to normal. I feel guilty saying that when people died in the storm, including an … Continue reading →

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White-out

Posted on 02/09/2013 by

  I hope you don’t mind the attitude, but I’m feeling just the teensiest bit triumphantly badass this morning. My Massachusetts pride is partially restored.  I remember back when we had real snow, when my dad, in the Blizzard of … Continue reading →

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