The Hardest Job
In 1977, I thought I knew what hard work was. In rural Illinois, corn detasseling, mowing grass and shoveling snow were not odd jobs—they were necessary. Going to college was not necessary. But I was...
View ArticleLiving proof that April can be kind
T.S. Eliot said April is the cruelest month. I suppose it is for the dead, those who can no longer enjoy the lilacs. But most of us aren’t like Eliot. We don’t sympathize with the dead. We choose to...
View ArticleSomebody Built the Pyramids: The wisdom of Mike Lefevre
This is my small tribute to Mike Lefevre who spoke to Studs Terkel more than 40 years ago and whose words grace the first few pages of Working: It’s not just the work. Somebody built the pyramids....
View ArticleCutting Fabric in Measured Time
When Susan Woodring, author of Goliath (St. Martin’s Press) told me she wanted to contribute to workerwrites, I was thrilled. In addition to Susan’s deft characterization of Goliath’s working class,...
View ArticleWhen Student Becomes Master
One feature I love about Zen Buddhism (as well as Star Wars and The Karate Kid) is that a beginner can — and will, with practice — become the expert. When I interviewed Sara Seger in Manhattan back in...
View ArticleCreating More Than The Floor He Walks On
Stephane Magloire is tall. At first I don’t notice. It’s his smile that takes me in, as if he is interviewing me, and something else I can’t quite define. Something organic that I identify all at once...
View ArticleFinding your audacious remains
Try to remember how you felt as a child on a Saturday morning. Everything seemed possible. What could happen at any moment was anything. Kids run on hope and positivity with no awareness of these...
View ArticleWon’t You Pretty Please Like My Stoic Writer Page?
My husband bought Oliver Burkeman’s new book The Antidote (Canongate Books Ltd, 2012) and in two days, it was on my nightstand – our signal for “you gotta read this.” Burkeman’s thesis is that Positive...
View ArticleRon Jackson’s Thanksgiving on Labor Day
This beautiful little essay from Ron Jackson was an unexpected gift–the best kind. It began with a facebook post: what does Labor Day mean to you? A Working Life by Ron Jackson Work. Like life or...
View ArticleRelearning Happiness from Oliver Burkeman
I had the pleasure of interviewing Oliver Burkeman in Brooklyn three weeks ago. Burkeman is author of The Antidote, Happiness for people who can’t stand positive thinking and a columnist for the...
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