Andromeda Romano-Lax

The authors I admire the most take the biggest risks. They aren’t fearless. They experience fear and they head into the unknown anyway, feeling their way in the dark. When Michael Cunningham began writing The Hours, which started out as a contemporary retelling of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, he knew all the ways it could […]

Photo Caption: One of the hardest parts of the 70.3 triathlon: transitioning into the half-marathon, following the bike, with over two hours to go and legs made of lead. The trick: stay in the moment, even if the moment hurts. Last week I competed in my first 70.3 Ironman, an eight-hour triathlon. I was one

Scott H. Young, productivity expert and author of Ultralearning, which I recommend, recently blogged this in response to a reader question: “I believe motivation is a (somewhat) rational signal about the value of your activity. To feel motivated, the project needs to be high value with high certainty.” I might convince myself, on a good

It started with reading too many tweets about AWP, the enormous conference that drew 6,000 writers to Philadelphia last month. From my mother-in-law’s Toronto apartment, I saw photos of writers I admire, dressed up for a night out—wait, that author I know well knows that author I know only via her recent book, a favorite

Today I did an itty-bitty trail run following strict doctor’s orders: fifteen minutes maximum; alternate running with walking; stop at the faintest niggle of discomfort. All went well and I’m hoping that after I manage three of these in a row, pain-free, I’ll slowly return to regular running following a six-week prescribed break. If not,

I put away my scale for the month of January. Generally, I believe in weighing myself daily, which research supports as helping with weight control. But I could tell I was investing too much in the flashing numbers, being buoyed or dismayed by small fluctuations instead of putting emphasis on real health: how I feel,