Tag Archives: relationships

“Mom, What’s the Right Age to Start Having Sex?”

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Julie Goldberg

“Mom, what’s the right age to start having sex?” That was exactly the question I wasn’t expecting, sitting with my 13-year-old son and my husband in a restaurant overlooking the Hudson, sipping a cocktail, waiting for our food to arrive. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Motherhood | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Bigger

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Julie Goldberg

(The following is a version of the speech I gave at my son Isaac’s bar mitzvah last weekend. To illustrate the point before I began, I took off my high-heeled shoes and stood next to him in front of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Motherhood, Volta | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

“Following”

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Julie Goldberg

Neil Fein asked a few writers to try their hand at epistolary flash fiction. I love epistolary novels, but how could anyone replicate the form’s slow unfolding of characters, relationships, and conflict in 500 words or less? Here’s what I … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Girl on the Garden State Parkway

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Julie Goldberg

A few years ago, I was driving north on the Garden State Parkway after attending a full-day graduate class. I was tired, and the trip home would take well over an hour. I harmonized with the radio to keep awake. … Continue reading →

Posted in Volta | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Against Positive Attitudes

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Julie Goldberg

A few days ago, I lost someone I cherish, my mother-in-law of seventeen years, Marjorie Feldman Springer, who died of an extremely aggressive form of leukemia. Marge was a vivacious, energetic, athletic person, who biked, hiked, swam, played a devastating … Continue reading →

Posted in Criticism, Volta | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Common Ground in the Culture Wars

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Julie Goldberg

Because we’re addicted to silly arguments and trumped up controversies, and because the most sophisticated move we seem able to make as a culture is forcing every issue into two, and no more than two, warring camps, lately we’ve been … Continue reading →

Posted in Criticism, Motherhood | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Grand Unified Theory

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Julie Goldberg

I’ve been thinking a lot over the past year about emotions. Well, that’s only half the truth. I’ve been feeling a lot of emotions. In 2011, I weathered a midlife crisis, made a new commitment to my writing,  and confronted several serious … Continue reading →

Posted in Criticism, Motherhood, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Reframing Bullying: Not Popular, but Powerful.

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Julie Goldberg

Lies Told to Bullying Victims Over the Years: A Compendium The people who torment you are popular, a word that means “well-liked.” If people whom everyone else likes find you unacceptable, then the problem is obviously you.  Of course, physical … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

You Can Spread It with a Paper Knife!

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Julie Goldberg

Remember this commercial?  No?  Well, 1977 really was a long time ago, I suppose.  This 36-second drama presents a man in a suit explaining to a housewife that Pillsbury Frosting Supreme is so creamy that “you can spread it with … Continue reading →

Posted in Volta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments