Dying For Success
In the “Education Life” section of The New York Times (8/2/15), author Julie Scelfo described the progress of freshman college students—the super-ambitious, high-achieving, high school students—who spiral into deep depression and sometimes even commit suicide. Who...
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Overcrowded Prisons – Nightmare Nests
Did you know that America has by far the highest incarceration rate of any Western nation, with 750 humans in jail per 100,000 people? If that statistic isn’t horrifying enough, consider the fact that over 50% of inmates are in federal prison for drug crimes...
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Hoping, Coping & Letting Go
In one of my all-time favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption, Red reads a letter from his friend Andy, who escaped from prison after years of being punished for a crime he didn’t commit. In the letter Andy says: “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things,...
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Red Light, Green Light & Marlee Matlin
Remember the child’s game, Red Light, Green Light? A leader turns his back on a group of friends and calls out “green light;” then the kids run forward from a starting line until the leader says: “red light,” and everyone must stop. Anyone caught still moving is...
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Growing Old, Staying Young, and a Box of Rain
Aside from plastic surgery and Botox, how can we grow old gracefully if we’re lucky enough to stay healthy and remain on the planet? For me and many other baby boomers in our 50s and 60s, this is a burning question. First we raised our children and watched them...
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The New Normal – Is Neurodiversity Next?
Last week the Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 to legalize same sex marriage, granting homosexuals multiple civil rights that heterosexuals have enjoyed since the United States declared independence from Great Britain. Finally gay men and women are free to marry...
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A Change Worth Keeping
Q: What do people with autism want out of life? A: Love and acceptance. What people on the spectrum want is what EVERYONE wants: a fighting chance to succeed in life. All parents hope their kids grow up and are able to leave the family...
read moreRaising Baby – Roller Coaster RideQ. What could be more thrilling (and exhausting) than giving birth to the next generation in the form of your own flesh and blood? A. Raising that son or daughter, of course. Unlike all other creative projects, raising a baby...
read moreEmpty Nest Moments This week’s post was inspired by my son’s move to the West coast where he will start a new job. Henry and I are excited and proud, but also sad. It’s the end of an era, and the beginning of the rest of our lives. I’m sure there...
read moreMuzzled Moms in the New Millennium
Does anyone remember Virginia Woolf’s “Angel in the House?" If you think that all-suffering, wife-and-mother-first (me last) Angel is a Victorian Era issue, think again. In 1931, Woolf lectured that "Killing the Angel in the House was part of the occupation of a...
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My Book
Consulting
About Marguerite
Marguerite Elisofon is a New York City writer and the author of My Picture Perfect Family, a memoir about how her family navigated life with a child on the autistic spectrum before the internet and support groups existed. She also blogs about parenting young adults and disability related issues in The Never Empty Nest. Her writing has been featured in a variety of publications, including Time and NY Metro Parents magazine, and her family’s story has been featured by the NY Post, Fox News, The Daily Mail, and on Jenny McCarthy’s Dirty Sexy Funny radio show. A Vassar graduate, Marguerite was born and raised in New York City, where she still lives with her husband, Howard, in their mostly-empty nest. She is available to speak about a wide variety of issues relating to twins, parenting, and autism. 