Are You Now or Have You Ever Been. . .

PRENTER,  APPALACHIAN WEST VIRGINIA. 1950. A young, pregnant woman sits in the living room of her home, one of only five houses in the county with indoor plumbing and electricity. She is a registered nurse; her husband, company doctor. Together they make  house calls, keep office hours and manage the practice. “The company” is a [...]

The Last Time I Saw Kathie

©2008 Ramona K. Silipo. All rights reserved.
This was the third time I’d met Kathie at a café between our houses. Her son Raphael, twelve, was in school. I calmed myself. I didn’t want to get angry.
“My God!” People looked, but I couldn’t help it.  She had a sutured gash above her left eye. With tremendous [...]

Violent Anger: Is it “in a Normal Range of Emotions?”

©2008, RK Silipo. All rights reserved.
Recently I happened to meet a psychiatrist who believes that violent anger and violent behaviour are  “in a normal range of emotions.” Her view was that people who do not lash out violently are actually somehow lacking in their range of emotional responses; that the absence of violence is abnormal. [...]

Man-less Pregnancy! (and More!) in Herland

Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a book ‘way ahead of its time. Women, particularly young women, will recognize themselves –their thoughts, ideals, dreams for themselves and the world. Men, particularly men born after1960, will scoff at the narrator’s attitudes. Although the premise is a classic hidden utopia tale, there are more than enough plot [...]