RECENT POSTS
September 2025 | Things Worth Your Time
Books, essays, podcast episodes, and more that I think are worth your time, plus recent cultural news that I’m paying attention to in the month
Celebration Isn’t Just for the Finish Line
I’m learning, thanks to a lot of help from friends, that celebration isn’t just for the finish line. Many of us wait to celebrate until
Can We Disagree and Still Belong Together
I recently spoke about what it looks like to become communities of belonging. I’m aware that many of our communities are places where we only
Don’t Wait to Celebrate: Disability and Delight
TAKE THE NEXT STEP PODCAST “How could there be a good future in the midst of so much loss?” If you’ve felt overwhelmed by the
I Never Thought I’d Do This
I have never really seen myself operating in the self-help space. When I write and speak, when I interview guests for Reimagining the Good Life, I
Introducing Take the Next Step Podcast
TAKE THE NEXT STEP PODCAST Welcome to Take the Next Step, a weekly podcast for parents of children with disabilities, offering practical guidance, encouragement, and hope.
The Harm of Careless Rhetoric
“Gavin Newsom is a mongoloid who barely registers half a brain cell…” That’s what Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, said in response* to
The Questions Reshaping How I Parent Teenagers
Parenting Feels Complicated In part because of working on Take the Next Step, and in part because of where we are in our family life,
Autism is not a “horror show.”
President Trump referred to autism as a “horror show” in a televised cabinet meeting this week. The language we use to describe disability matters. Speaking in sweeping,
What if Dependence Is a Gift?
Our limits may hold the secret to flourishing. • Before I get into this week’s message, I want to thank all of you who participated
I’m Glad I Made This Choice This Summer
A few months back, I was looking ahead at August and realized I didn’t have many plans. Two thoughts came to mind. I could set
Where Joy and Discomfort Meet
I know many of you are already back to school, or close to it. Here in Connecticut, we still have a few weeks of summertime.
August 2025 | Things Worth Your Time
Books, essays, podcasts episodes, and more that I think are worth your time, plus recent cultural news that I’m paying attention to… ESSAYS ESSAY: “Canada
You Don’t Have to Climb Toward Hope
“What if hope’s not a rope you hold on to? What if it’s the arms that have always held you?” My new favorite song is
“Good Genes” and the Gift of Being Human
What if the real beauty of humanity isn’t found in “good genes,” but in the people our culture is most inclined to screen out? Last
Super Babies and the Cost of Control
I recently read a Washington Post essay entitled “Inside the Silicon-Valley Push to Breed Super Babies.” It describes the latest technology to screen embryos for
How Love Disrupts the Hierarchy
You may have noticed that I didn’t write a Substack last week. I took the week off because I was at Hope Heals Camp in
Life, Animated
Journalist Ron Suskind’s son Owen was diagnosed with autism at age three. Over the course of the previous year, Owen had stopped talking and seemed
