Elizabeth Reed Writes - Political Activist, Health Advocate, Author, Traveler

PORTUGAL, LAND OF SUN AND SARDINES

A tribute to my native country and generations of a family friendship

THE TIARA

Halos, crowns, tiaras, wreaths—what symbols of reverence! I chose the irreverent path and never looked back.

THE SOUP I INHERITED

I pick up the purple turnip and slice off the scraggly-rooted bottom

A MAP OF MARRIAGE ON MONHEGAN ISLAND

Most publications look for a timely connection and an edge when accepting a piece, something that is often the generator of my essays. But every once in awhile, there is a piece that you have to write simply because it’s what you feel, no matter the correlation...

THE PROM

Before mani-pedis were affordable, before limos were the chariots of choice, before the first kiss of the night was the breathalyzer you put your lips on, the spring prom was a rite of passage, sometimes for drinking, sometimes for sex, for wearing a gown or that first French kiss mangled in braces.

A MAP OF MARRIAGE ON MONHEGAN ISLAND

We fell in love when our bodies were still whole, long before children, long before the map of our lives was etched with medical detours. Now Uli and I step off the boat and onto Monhegan Island, just as we arrived from Boston in 1994 for our honeymoon, elated from our wedding.