Category Archives: Memoir

The Death of a Friend

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Abigail

The Death of a Friend This week word came that my friend Shirley Kennedy had died. On the one hand, I was relieved for her. It was like hearing that a friend, unfairly imprisoned, had been set free. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in Afterlife, Art of Living, Autonomy, beauty, Chivalry, Class, Contemplation, Cool, Courage, Culture, Desire, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Existentialism, Faith, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, Health, Heroes, hidden God, Ideality, Identity, Immortality, Jews, life and death struggle, Love, Memoir, memory, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, motherhood, nineteenth-century, Ontology, Past and Future, Peace, politics of ideas, Power, presence, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Reductionism, relationships, Roles, Romance, Romantic Love, scientism, secular, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged a different woman, antebellum home, Back Bay Road, barrel racing, bodily failure, country friend, death as release, finding the true owners, G.I. Bride, home birth, horsemanship, humble gratitude, humble virtues, Jewish concerns, local historical society, local history, midwife, Milbridge Maine, Old Mainers, political extremism, post-war Germany, rodeo ribbons, selling the house you don’t own, Shirley Kennedy, sisterly feeling, the right of way, the shore strip, true friendship, understanding horses, Washington County, womanly arts, women friends | 2 Comments

A Remarkable Evening

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Abigail

A Remarkable Evening Jerry and I belong to a Christian/Jewish dialogue group that celebrated its 25th year last week, though we haven’t been in it that long. The discussion topic was not so celebratory: anti-semitism and how to destroy it. … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Academe, Action, Art of Living, Atheism, Bible, Biblical God, bureaucracy, Chivalry, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, eighteenth century, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Films, Freedom, Friendship, Guilt and Innocence, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Immortality, Institutional Power, Jews, Journalism, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, non-violence, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Peace, Political, Political Movements, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Race, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, secular, Seduction, self-deception, Sex Appeal, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, Terror, terrorism, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged 18th-century rabbis, admitting guilt, American Jewish Committee, anniversary celebration, anti-semitism, anti-semitism and me, anti-zionist demonstrators, anti-zionist placards, BCCC/AJC, Bucks County Christian Coalition, cafeteria-style dinner, changing the subject, Christian blinders, Christian clubbiness, Christian/Jewish dialogue, curing anti-semitism, exclusivity, experiencing anti-semitism, forbidden topics, Holocaust, Holocaust photos, Honorary Counsel General, Krista Bard, l’esprit de l’escalier, Let go and let God, Lithuania, Lithuanian and Jewish heritage, Lithuanian diplomat, Lithuanian heroes, Lithuanian memories, miracle, national guilt, new antisemitism, power of prayer, protesters, public insults, Second World War, spiritual abyss, Talmudic eminence, The Lord’s Prayer, the right answer, the Vilna Gaon | Leave a comment

The Coziness of Louisa May Alcott

Posted on January 28, 2020 by Abigail

The Coziness of Louisa May Alcott “Coziness” is not a word in the highest repute. In the 17th century, when the philosophers called “modern” were allowing the new physics to define reality, the features they deemed objectively-out-there were measurable: like … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, books, Childhood, Chivalry, Christianity, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Films, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, ID, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Immortality, Institutional Power, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Martyrdom, Masculinity, Memoir, memory, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, motherhood, nineteenth-century, novels, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romance, Romantic Love, scientism, secular, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged 17th Century Philosophers, Alcott as nurse, becoming a writer, catering to fashion, coming-of-age novels, cultural ideals of womanhood, death of Beth, farther shore., father-daughter relation, fatherly love, fictional simplifications, filial piety, Frederick Douglas, Greta Gerwig, guardian angels, happy endings, hard-edged modern views, hearth and home, Henry David Thoreau, home life, homelikeness, hope and faith, ideals of girlhood, important thinkers, Julia Ward Howe, literary catering, living one’s talent, Louisa May Alcott, Louisa May Alcott’s death, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Margaret Fuller, Marmee, Materialism, maternal protection, measurable reality, modern feeling, motherly love, Nathaniel Hawthorne, objectivity, parental guidance, personal fulfillment, physical reality, plain living and high thinking, processing influences, Ralph Waldo Emerson, relativism, repressing anger, sentimentality, size, subjectivity, the primary qualities, the secondary qualities, Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist family, unsentimentality, velocity, weight | Leave a comment

It’s Our Twentieth!

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Abigail

It’s Our Twentieth! January 20th, 2020, is our twentieth anniversary and, over the past few days, we’ve been talking about what it all means. In our first year, when I still lived in New York and Jerry in Washington D.C., … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, Bible, Biblical God, books, bureaucracy, Chivalry, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, ID, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Immortality, Institutional Power, Jews, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Masculinity, master, Medieval, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, Mysticism, nineteenth-century, novels, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Phenomenology of Mind, Philosophy, Poetry, Political, Political Movements, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romance, Romantic Love, Romanticism, scientism, secular, Seduction, self-deception, Sex Appeal, Sexuality, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, Sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged a fish without a bicycle, a woman without a man, Abraham and Sarah, biblical flawed people, biblical models, Biblical narrative, biblical prototypes, biblical romance, Charlotte Bronte, collegial advisors, commuting marriage, consulting experts, delusions, girlhood daydreams, gnostic lovers, grave of Heloise and Abelard, Heloise and Abelard, identity markers, institutional role, Isaac and Rebecca, it’s a miracle, Jacob and Rachel, joint life, letting be, life together, love and work, love as knowledge, madness of love, medieval troubadours, mutual support, neutral vantage point, new beginnings, partnership, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Reader I married him, reciprocity, requirements of marriage, reshaping one’s life, risking identity, romantic feeling, sanity markers, shared space, shared time, social dignity, social status, story of God and humankind, taking a chance, teamwork, the bachelor life, the good fight, the rose clings ‘round the briar, Tristan and Iseult, view from nowhere, wedding anniversary, winning know how, with love all things are possible | 2 Comments

The Body Problem

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Abigail

The Body Problem Some years back, a path-breaking feminist book was published bearing the title, Our Bodies/Our Selves. It included black and white photos of stuff that I was not liberated enough to inspect too closely. I would have titled … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Alienation, American Politics, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, Autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, books, Chivalry, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Existentialism, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Health, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Institutional Power, Jews, Journalism, Judaism, Law, life and death struggle, Love, Memoir, memory, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, Mysticism, non-violence, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Political, Political Movements, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, scientism, secular, Seduction, self-deception, Sex Appeal, Sexuality, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged "Our Bodies/Our Selves", American Academy of Religion, Art Student’s League of NYC, befriending one’s body, being and doing, bodily ordeal, body problems, Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, Chesed, Chinese aesthetics, distinguished academic panel, double vision, Dr. Mark Bussell, exhausted sleep, exhaustion, experimental treatment, eye muscle surgery, feminist book, getting still, gluten-free, ground-breaking book, human connections, improved mobility, in resources, Jerry L. Martin ed. Theology Without Walls: The Trans-Religious Imperative, Jewish compassion, kneecap fracture, leg immobilizer, life review, Loma Linda Neuropathic Therapy Center, mind/body problem, moving through life, nature’s rhythm, nature’s time table, neuropathy, neuropathy treatments, one’s own best friend, path-breaking book, philosophical papers, primordial wariness, professional activities, quieting down, realism, Reform temple, rehab exercises, retrospection, rhythm of things, San Diego, social occasion, spirit of life, stormy relationships, surgery, tenderness, the body’s self, the walking art, theological history, Theology Without Walls, TWW contributors, Tzedek, walking handicap, wife as consort, women’s health | Leave a comment

Who’s In Charge Here?

Posted on December 31, 2019 by Abigail

Who’s In Charge Here? Today I read an essay about the meaning of life. It was written in the form of a book review by Peter Brooks of The Storyteller Essays by Walter Benjamin. The review appears in the current … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, books, Christianity, Cities, Class, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, Faith, Fashion, Freedom, Gender Balance, glitterati, Guilt and Innocence, Hegel, Heroes, hidden God, History, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Immorality, Jews, Judaism, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Masculinity, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, novels, Past and Future, Phenomenology of Mind, Philosophy, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Psychology, Public Intellectual, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romance, scientism, secular, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, Violence, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged "New York Review of Books", accessing one's situation, administrative savvy, bad luck, belief systems, Bible stories, Bible study, causation in history, chance or design, cover story, death scene, discerning meaning, disciplined life, divine guidance, divine influence, Egyptian bondage, erotic temptation, failure as opportunity, failure’s lessons, family reconciliation, favorite son, fiction as instructive, fictional heroes, fictional life, fractured kneecap, fratricidal feeling, God as Co-Author, God in control, Hebrew Bible, History, housebound, how the story ends, imaginary character, intelligent choice, Joseph in Egypt, life plotline, life review, living intelligently, making lemonade out of lemons, Master Blueprint, meaning of history, meaning of life, moral framework, moral society, Moses, narrative closure, novelistic Bible stories, novelistic outlook, novelistic view, Peter Brooks’s review of The Storyteller Essays by Walter Benjamin, phenomenological reduction, political smarts, promised land, providential influence, randomness of experience, rationalization, recognition scene, reconciliation, reunion scene, roll of the dice, self-awareness, self-correcting, selling your brother, sibling rivalry, sophisticated readers, the choices we make, the Joseph story, the novel, Walter Benjamin’s The Storyteller Essays, working the room, wrongly accused | 2 Comments

The Moral Markers

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Abigail

The Moral Markers From time to time, I pause to picture how the recent phases of my life would look to me if there were no God in the pictures. It’s a sort of thought experiment. Philosophers are given to … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdism, Action, Alienation, Anthropology, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, books, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, glitterati, Gnosticism, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, ID, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Institutional Power, Journalism, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Masculinity, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, nineteenth-century, novels, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Political Movements, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, scientism, secular, Seduction, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, Sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged abstraction, absurdity, agnostic, Atheism, atheistic world view, Authenticity, beyond good and evil, brute forces, complementarity in friendship, concrete experience, consequential decisions, constructive orientation, controlled experiment, cynicism, deleted datum, erasing evidence, experimental confirmation, experimental disconfirmation, false consciousness, fashionable abstractions, fashionable views, feigned belief, fork in the road, Friedrich Nietzsche, integrating experience, limited palette, loyalty v betrayal, Martin Heidegger, meaning of life, meaningful life, models of the ultimate, modern life, Modernity, moral choice, moral fork in the road, moral indices, moral markers, moral neutrality, no rhyme or reason, novelistic plotline, objectivity claims, opinion shapers, opposites attract, pointlessness, power relations, projection, random energy, reality as absurd, relationship dynamics, Social Darwinism, social pretense, survival of the fittest, Swedish descent, the Modern world, the Post-Modern world, theism, theistic world view, thought experiment, Valhalla, Vedantist, Viking worldview | Leave a comment

	Abigail on The Death of a Friend
	Ken Kaplan on The Death of a Friend
	Abigail on It’s Our Twentieth!
	Johan Herrenberg on It’s Our Twentieth!
	Abigail on Jews, Christians, and Jes…

Category Archives: Memoir

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