ArcaMax

Years ago, a bona fide gourmet cook showed me how she passed off store-bought bread as homemade by sprinkling a little sifted flour on top.

From that day forward, I was always suspicious of her offerings at large gatherings, although I greatly admired her ability to economize time and energy.

Not long after, my mother tried to pull a fast one ...Read more

Q. I wish I could say I look forward to the holidays, but now that my kids’ mother and I have split up, it just seems impossible. Thanksgiving is the worst. We used to live in the same neighborhood, therefore alternating just Thanksgiving Day worked. But their mom recently moved to the next town. The kids hate sitting in the car. I hate ...Read more

A few days after Mindy Beyer was born, doctors delivered crushing news to her parents: You'll be lucky if your baby lives until age 3.

Mindy was born with a variety of heart problems. Her ventricles were reversed and there was a hole between them, making it difficult for her heart to efficiently pump blood.

At 1 month old, Mindy underwent ...Read more

For a week or so, Ashley Lunardini felt an intermittent pain in her neck. She also had a dull headache that wouldn't go away. She'd had neck pain before, but headaches were rare.

Overall, she was in excellent health. At 39, she went to Pilates class three times a week, walked every day and ate healthy meals.

She went to see her primary care ...Read more

Writers have often turned to the royal family for inspiration, but in recent years it has been fiction, rather than factual biographies, that have grown in popularity.

And the royals are not only inspiring writers in book form. From the BBC series, "Victoria," based on the book by Daisy Goodwin about the life of young Queen Victoria, to the ...Read more

'HERETIC'

Rated R for some bloody violence.

What it’s about: Two young Mormon women end up at the home of a man they believe they can convert, and find a trap waiting for them.

The kid attractor factor: None for this philosophical horror flick.

Good lessons/bad lessons: You can do everything right and a man still might be determined to ...Read more

Q. I read your column, and I find it fascinating that you think that people who have volatile backgrounds can get along. My ex was a very violent person. We all had the bruises to prove it. I finally left three years ago and didn’t look back. They never see the kids, and to think I should reach out for the sake of the children is outside of my...Read more

Does anyone remember when you made a purchase, went to a doctor or took your car in for a repair and weren't asked for a review? We are in the throes of review mania.

I recently visited a new dentist. Two hours after I left his office, a text arrived asking for a review. I hesitated. What if I inadvertently posted something he took the wrong ...Read more

The purpose of Juliana Hastings’ book, "I’ll Have a Double: What Every Woman Needs to Know About Alcohol and Breast Cancer" is to raise awareness and share what she has learned during her own breast cancer journey.

While this book is a memoir of Juliana’s experience, it is also a guide for patients. She offers a wide array of helpful tips...Read more

“Would you like a ticket or would you like to talk?”

Vincent Dodd, from decades as a nurse helping terminally ill patients and their families and then as a law enforcement officer, knows that solutions to crises are often found well below the surface.

So his tendency, and the visual unusuality, to invite conversation rather than issue a ...Read more

Paula Nieto-Morales recalls the puzzled looks on her parents' faces when she told them she wanted to become a neonatologist. She was 5 years old.

"I was so little! And they asked, 'Where did you learn that word?'" said Nieto-Morales, who was born and raised in Colombia.

She likely picked it up while watching television, mostly nature and ...Read more

'HERE'

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, some suggestive material, brief strong language and smoking.

What it’s about: An innovative domestic drama looking at one house and one place from a single point of view over many hundreds of years.

The kid attractor factor: Not much — this is more of an adult drama.

Good lessons/bad lessons: ...Read more

When I was a little girl taking piano lessons, we lived in an old house with a dark, scary basement where mice frequently gathered and hosted parties.

Sometimes, mice ventured upstairs and hid behind the piano. When I began practicing, they would shoot out due to the horrible off-key sounds piercing their teeny, tiny, perfect-pitch sensitive ...Read more