Hélène’s

When the "storm of the century" was due to hit Chicago right before Christmas, coinciding with our flights out to visit my parents in Santa Barbara, my husband and I decided to move our travel plans...

For nearly 3 years, I avoided it. I'd find out after-the-fact that I'd been exposed and still, no sign of it. Like last Christmas, when over a dozen of us gathered for the holidays and many ended up...

Two weeks ago, I woke up to a text from my friend Karen—well, really her eldest son Alec who had taken over her cell phone at her request. He wanted to let me know that his dad, Jim, had suffered a...

In midlife, many of us are rethinking our female friendships. This significant life transition—potentially involving new priorities, a geographic move, a change in work or marital or family status,...

I attended a virtual support group recently entitled "Getting Through the Holidays Together!" — I signed up because that's exactly how I feel. I have to "get through" them. In the meeting, I shared...

For most of my life, I have relied on my brain for judgment and decision making. The problem is, there's a lot of noise in my head, and it's not always pleasant. Like my shitty inner critic telling...

I have just spent one short but glorious week in Copenhagen and Paris with my husband. Both cities hold special places in my heart. Copenhagen because I was born there of a Danish mother and spent...

I've had the good luck to meet some famous people over the years: Jerry Seinfeld and Julia Child (work events), Barack Obama (fundraiser when he was running for IL state senator), Ali Wentworth...

In my teens and twenties, I used to love spending a leisurely afternoon at the mall. I would go from store to store, browsing the latest fashions, trying on clothing, and purchasing a selection of...

My husband gets annoyed at cars driving slowly in front of us. Sometimes I do too. But I remind him (and myself): What if this was your elderly mother in that car, unsure of where she's going? Or...