Cara Natterson's Blog, page 2

A 21st Century Hero’s Journey

To grow up is to admit that life is challenging and that we are responsible for our own behavior and for the well-being of one another. In psychological terms, the urge to grow up is called individuation, and in mythological terms it is called the hero’s journey – the inner calling to push off from the shore of mother and father, to test limits, to know your worth, to speak your truth, to claim authentic selfhood.

Elizabeth Lesser, Cassandra Speaks

Today’s newsletter begins with a shoutout to my longtime friend Liz. I told her recently that I had... READ MORE

This Issue Requires Volume

Today, I’m trading the written word for the spoken one. Because when Jessica Yellin invites you onto News Not Noise, you just play that!

Jess and I have known each other for decades. We went to high school and college together, and… READ MORE

Bloody Confusing

Several years ago, this newsletter launched with the intent of focusing entirely on the health and wellness of kids, tweens and teens. Then last year, when COVID upended everything, the content pivoted accordingly. Recently, it’s found a balance between the two, a mash-up of puberty, pandemic, and bits and pieces falling into the Venn diagram oval in between. All of which makes today’s topic – the connection between COVID, vaccines, and menstrual bleeding – uniquely central.

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Everyone, Everywhere

Today marks the first day that COVID vaccines are available to everyone, everywhere across the US. Well, everyone over the age of 16, which technically means 76% of the US population. And everywhere there is availability, so even if you want it, you might need to wait a few days or weeks to be jabbed. Still, the moment is massive.

This time last year, I wrote about companies doing good during pandemic, like Crocs and All Birds… READ MORE

All Hail Body Love

One of the surprising silver linings of the pandemic: a national conversation about women, their boobs, and their bras. Articles on the topic have swirled for decades, but it took being locked down to see traction among news coverage of women's lack of coverage. And now that we're reemerging back into the world, these newly (un)sexy headlines have shifted from… READ MORE

Normal 2.0

A year ago this week, I bought a pack of pre-cut 12” x 12” cotton squares and a bag of bee’s wax pellets. Having already stocked the pantry with every staple I could think of, and the bathrooms with as much toilet paper as I could order, my attention turned to crafty projects that I was sure I would have nothing but time to complete. (Side note: I am not crafty or even DIY-adjacent.) Among my goals: making my own wax paper with which I would wrap my regular bounty of homemade sourdough bread. A year later, I have baked about half a dozen loaves – most of them edible, a couple not, none Instagram-worthy – and the cotton squares and wax pellets remain... READ MORE

Thinking Outside the (Zoom) Box

Thanks to the cosmic intersection of the impending shift to daylight savings time on Sunday (spring forward!) and the dropping COVID numbers, which make school reopening imaginable, doesn’t it suddenly feel like life is opening up? This week, for the first time in nearly a year, the days distinguished themselves. READ MORE

When Can We… Hug? Fly? Hang out? Live a little?!

These are the questions I receive by email, text, and phone pretty much daily now. People are hungry for an algorithm to understand what they can and cannot do safely, paradigms that have suddenly shifted depending upon who has and hasn’t been vaccinated.

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Rumors and What Not

Has anyone else noticed the sudden return of the phrase what not? It’s more like a single word – whatnot – tossed around by teens and twenty-somethings everywhere. I hear it at the dinner table and on TikTok and during Zoom meetings almost anytime there’s a square occupied by someone born after 1990, but it’s never uttered by veteran reporters… READ MORE

Decoding Boys Now Available in Paperback!

From the author of the bestselling Care & Keeping of You series! This book will provide you with the answers that will help you take care of yourself better, from hair care to healthy eating, bad breath to shaving, acne to voice changes, and everything in between. With tips, how-tos, and facts from a real pediatrician, it's the perfect book to help you learn about your body's changes. PURCHASE HERE.