Nest Transformations
Film crew in the living room After several serious blogs about worldwide events, I decided it was time for a light-hearted look inside my small family’s Never Empty Nest. Coming in for a close up on our 2ndAvenue, ninth floor nest, last week you would have seen a...
read moreThree American Heroes
After last week’s post (“Religion, Rape and Slavery,” 8/21/15), what could be more uplifting than the story of three young Americans, whose heroic efforts to subdue an armed terrorist saved the lives of over 500 people aboard a crowded bullet train between...
read moreReligion, Rape and Slavery
Libraries are filled with books on religion, rape and slavery, so this week’s post is just another tiny drop of commentary in the ocean of man’s inhumanity to man (or in this case, woman). Normally, I wouldn’t even attempt to express my reaction to the horrors of...
read moreHelping the Homeless vs. Political Prattle
Why are there so many more homeless people living in our streets? New Yorkers all over the city are asking. No wonder Mayor De Blasio’s approval rating has plummeted. The New York Times reported that more than half of New York voters (53%) disapprove of the way...
read moreDying 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...
read moreOvercrowded 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...
read moreHoping, 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,...
read moreRed 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...
read moreGrowing 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...
read moreThe 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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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.