When I was 15, I had a great summer job as a mother’s helper (similar to what the French call an au pair, or basically a glorified babysitter-cum-housekeeper). It was in a suburb of Boston with two well-behaved kids that I knew well. I also got to spend time with a group of kids I […]
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It Didn’t Even Sound Like Her
It certainly wasn’t the way I would have done it. I took an online course with a well-known author, who shared his writing process and how he had written three bestselling novels. Someone asked about how he revised: did he rewrite directly on the page, or use the first file as a template to then […]
No Noise
I checked my phone for the third time. No new emails. No texts. Not even any new posts on Instagram? That’s when I knew something was seriously wrong. Turns out, our internet provider (one of the biggest in Canada) was completely down—in fact, down all over the country. At first, it didn’t seem all that […]
I Don’t Regret It
There we were, at the art opening of a friend of a friend: abstract oil and acrylic on canvas, plus some random photographs, at a bona fide art gallery in downtown Toronto. (Please don’t ask me the name of the gallery. . . I was in university at the time, way too young to pay […]
When You “Don’t Know What to Write.”
One of the best holidays I ever had was a side trip to Washington, DC, in my early 30s, while doing research for my PhD. I spent my days at the University of Maryland in College Park, less than an hour from Washington. After hunkering down for eight hours a day in the bowels of […]
You Absolutely Can Do This
I remember the first time I was asked to speak at a conference. My immediate thought was, “But I’m a writer, not a speaker! Who will want to listen to me? I’ve got nothing worthwhile to say. . .” Far too many of us fall into this trap of “I’m not good enough” when we […]
Why It’s So Hard to Say “NO” to Holiday Foods
When I was a kid and through my 30s, I looked forward to the holidays every year. It was a time when I had free rein to eat as much as I wanted–basically, the entire season from October to April was a licence to pig out. Then, when I was diagnosed with candida, I had […]
Are You Addicted to Sugar?
Recent studies have confirmed what many of us have suspected for years: sugar is addictive. In fact, long before “sugar addiction” was even a term, I used to say that I was a “sugarholic,” implying that my addiction to sugar was like an alcoholic’s addiction to alcohol. Turns out, I was right. But feeling compelled […]
Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Dip
[If you love Thai spices, you’ll adore this dip. Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Dip is sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free and low glycemic. Suitable for all stages on an anti-candida diet.] Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Stylist:Margaret Monroe Dickey Although I love to travel, I tend not to do it […]
Discouraged By Holiday Food Restrictions?
It’s a story I hear from my clients far too often: “Everything was going just great! I was eating foods that are 100% compliant with my restricted diet. I was planning my food, taking lunch to the office, cooking extra on weekends so that I wouldn’t have to worry about what to eat for breakfast. . […]