Happy International Women's Day!

Medicine, Mountains, & More

In honor of International Women’s Day, I want to HIGHLY recommend Julia Louise-Dreyfus’ podcast, WISER THAN ME. She interviews wildly successful women, typically over 70 years old, who discuss their lives. Guests have included icons such as Rita Moreno, Nancy Pelosi, Jane Goodall, and Patti Smith.

MEDICINE

Since misinformation (erroneous info) and disinformation (intentionally erroneous info) are so prevalent, I was excited to see that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has created a New Ob-Gyn Misinformation Hub. The patient section (distinct from the one created for OB/GYNs) currently addresses vaccine safety, menopause, abortion, contraception, and information about crisis pregnancy centers.

Abortion Ban repercussions: A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that states with complete or 6-week abortion bans have higher than expected infant mortality rates after the bans took effect. Increases were larger among infants who were Black, had congenital anomalies, or were born in southern states. Researchers noted that the restrictive abortion ban observed in Texas had a dominant influence on the overall results.

Another recent analysis focused on maternal repercussions, and was published in ProPublica. They purchased and analyzed seven years of Texas’ hospital discharge data and demonstrated that maternal sepsis rates soared more than 50% for women hospitalized when they lost pregnancies in the second trimester after the state’s abortion ban. Maternal deaths increased also. In the two years before Covid (which they used as a reference point), there were 79 maternal deaths and in the two years after Dobbs, there were 120.

Shockingly, the CDC, which has the ability to track maternal deaths and whether they are linked to abortion bans, has provided no standard way to consider how abortion bans may contribute to mortality. Not shockingly, Texas has opted out completely of reporting maternal death data to the CDC.

How’s your body awareness? Your balance? I’m a firm believer that staying active is the best way to maintain health as we age. A recent article in the New York Times discusses the importance of proprioception, which is awareness of where your body is in space. This sense declines with age, increasing the risk of falls, but can be strengthened with specific exercises.

I’m sharing the article as a guest link (above) so I hope you can access it.

They recommend two tests:

Upper Body: Close your eyes and “raise both arms to shoulder height, parallel to the floor. Once you think you’re positioned like an uppercase ‘T,’ open your eyes and use the mirror to note how far your arms are from where you expected.”

Lower Body: Cross your arms in from of your chest and stand on one leg with your eyes open.

Repeat on the other leg and then do the same exercise with your eyes closed.

“Healthy adults under 50 should be able to balance for 40 seconds with both eyes open and seven seconds with both eyes closed. By the time you reach your 70s, those numbers drop to 15 and two seconds. If your times deviate significantly from the average for your age range, consult a physical therapist.” Similarly, if you’re off with your upper body test, therapy can help.

MOUNTAINS

No words can describe my admiration for Jeffrey Allen as a father, breast cancer physician, artist, and my husband. I’m so happy that he finally agreed to have his art in this space, and I will let the work speak for itself. Here are portraits in honor of International Women’s day featuring women with a sample of their culture’s textile behind them. More can be found on Instagram at isaacbenaharon

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MARCH MADNESS BOOK EVENTS

Do you have friends in any of these places who might be interested in attending an event for Tap Dancing on Everest? If so, please share this info with them.

TUCSON

• Finding a Literary Voice as a Child of Survivors: A Panel with Raisa Moroz and Joel Waldman, March 14^th, 11:00 am, Tucson Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center

• Tucson Festival of Books, Forces to be Reckoned With panel with Meryl Gordon and Sandra Velasquez moderated by Ann Boland, March 16^th at 11:00 am, Koffler Room 204

• Tucson Festival of Books, The Nature of Things panel with Steve Hoffman and Nell Greenfield Boyce, moderated by Tony Paniagua, March 16 at 1:00 pm, Student Union Kachina

FLORIDA

• Author Event, Hadassah Greater Miami and Sisterhood Temple Sinai of North Dade, March 19^th, 6:30 pm

• International Women’s Month Luncheon: Tap Dancing on Everest author event, March 20, 11:00am, Mandel JCC Palm Beaches, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

LOS ANGELES

• Stories of Resilience: A Conversation With Two Female Award-Winnings Memoirists, with Jessica Fein, moderated by Blair Glaser, March 26^th at 7:00 pm, Temple Beth Am

• Author Event, The Adventurers’ Club of LA, March 27^th at 7: 00 pm

And in April….

• Cultural Arts & Book Series, Dayton Ohio, April 6^th 2:00 pm, Woodbourne Library

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I’m thrilled to welcome my incredibly talented friend’s memoir into the world, The Full Catastrophe by Casey Mulligan Walsh. Casey is one of those people who can accomplish anything she puts her mind to like mastering photography, technological computer challenges or assembling a full size Ikea wall unit. This is the fourth memoir—the last and definitely not the least— published out of my writing critique group of four women called Writers Tears. Our nickname for Casey is The Comma Queen, since she’s the only one who remembers the rules on when and how to use them.

The Full Catastrophe is a story of living with grief beside joy in the wake of repeated loss. Orphaned at 12, Casey was determined to create a loving family. But when a hostile divorce tore it apart, she embraced a new spirituality, which carried her through the devastating sudden death of her 20-year-old son and taught her what true belonging really means.

This beautifully written book will help others navigating grief, loss, and even divorce, to have hope. For everyone else, it’s a window into humanity and our capacity for resilience.