Thoughts on faith, motherhood, grief, writing, and the stories that shape us.https://www.kristinacowan.com/en-ushttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/loosening-the-college-boards-grip-on-higher-ed/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/loosening-the-college-boards-grip-on-higher-ed/Classical-Christian education is helping break up the College Board's monopoly on standardized testing and its grip on higher ed.Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/amfest-2025/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/amfest-2025/Turning Point's first America Fest without Charlie Kirk drew record-breaking crowds — a testament to his enduring legacy of faith, freedom, and the courage to live boldly.Sat, 03 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/illinois-homeschool-act/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/illinois-homeschool-act/As the Trump administration moves to loosen Washington's grip on K-12 education, Illinois Democrats are pushing a bill that would criminalize homeschooling parents and bring private schools under state control.Sun, 23 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/book-review-brothers/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/book-review-brothers/Alex Van Halen's memoir is a tribute to the unbreakable bond between two brothers who chased a sound, not fame — and whose shared love of music became the bedrock of rock-and-roll history.Tue, 18 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-are-americans-sicker-than-ever/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-are-americans-sicker-than-ever/We're eating a credit card's worth of plastic each week, our children's diets are seventy percent ultra-processed, and metabolic dysfunction is at the root of nearly every chronic illness plaguing Americans.Wed, 28 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-last-supper-exemplum-christi/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-last-supper-exemplum-christi/The Paris Olympics' mockery of Leonardo's Last Supper scorned billions of believers and the foundations of Western Civilization — but it also exposed the desperation of forces bent on erasing our history.Sun, 11 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsFaithhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/happy-birthday-legacies/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/happy-birthday-legacies/When Losses Become Legacies turns two, and we're celebrating with reader reviews and a giveaway — because your words help others discover the book.Wed, 24 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/summer-reading/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/summer-reading/Three essential reads for the season: a life-changing book on metabolic health, a defense of free speech in an age of rage, and a manual for Christian dissidents facing soft totalitarianism.Thu, 04 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/bidens-dangerous-overhaul-of-title-ix/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/bidens-dangerous-overhaul-of-title-ix/Biden's 1,500-page rewrite of Title IX replaces biological sex with gender identity, stripping women of privacy, safety, and fair competition — and igniting a nationwide wave of lawsuits and defiance.Fri, 21 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/news-you-can-use-summer-2024/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/news-you-can-use-summer-2024/From leaked WPATH files exposing reckless gender procedures on minors to Douglas Murray's stirring defense of Israel, here are the stories and voices worth your attention this summer.Fri, 21 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/u-s-pediatricians-call-for-halting-transgender-surgeries/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/u-s-pediatricians-call-for-halting-transgender-surgeries/The American College of Pediatricians is challenging the forced consensus on transgender interventions for children — a long-overdue stand against procedures that cause immeasurable harm.Fri, 07 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/happy-mothers-day/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/happy-mothers-day/The legacy of motherhood reaches far beyond the blink of our years here on earth — a truth Walt Chantry captured beautifully, and one that reminds me of my own mom.Sun, 12 May 2024 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/jordan-petersons-we-who-wrestle-with-god-tour/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/jordan-petersons-we-who-wrestle-with-god-tour/Jordan Peterson's We Who Wrestle With God Tour was riveting — a journey into the depths of intellect and faith that demands keen listening and rewards attentive reflection.Wed, 01 May 2024 00:00:00 GMTFaithhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/amfest-2023/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/amfest-2023/My son and I spent four inspiring days at America Fest in Phoenix, hearing from the best and brightest thinkers — from Tucker Carlson to Yeonmi Park — and left encouraged about the country's future.Mon, 05 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/news-you-can-use-january-2024-edition/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/news-you-can-use-january-2024-edition/Launching a new feature to spotlight the stories and voices that matter — from Victor Davis Hanson on America's cultural collapse to a former Israeli hostage's harrowing account of captivity.Thu, 25 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/israel-vs-hamas-moms-on-a-mission-podcast/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/israel-vs-hamas-moms-on-a-mission-podcast/I returned to the Moms on a Mission podcast to discuss Hamas's propaganda machine, the horrific war crimes of October 7, and why calls for a ceasefire miss the mark.Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/classical-christmas-reflections/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/classical-christmas-reflections/From Malcolm Guite's poetry to Van Honthorst's luminous Nativity to Dickens's divine ghost tale, the best of Advent invites us to encounter the mystery of the incarnation through literature, art, and music.Sun, 24 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/on-israel/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/on-israel/The October 7 attacks on Israel were more severe than 9/11 — and the antisemitism spreading through American media, universities, and government demands that we bear witness to the truth and stand with our closest ally.Sat, 18 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-legacy-of-9-11/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-legacy-of-9-11/Twenty-two years after 9/11, the firefighters' courage endures as an intended legacy — but the expansion of an American police state and an irresponsible press threaten the freedoms those heroes died to defend.Tue, 12 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/praying-hands/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/praying-hands/Ten years after losing my brother Jim, I share the essay I wrote about him — a story woven through Durer's Praying Hands, our mother's legacy, and the mysterious power of prayer in the face of unbearable loss.Tue, 05 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/moms-on-a-mission-podcast/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/moms-on-a-mission-podcast/I joined Miriam Shaw on the Moms on a Mission podcast to discuss my journalism career, the state of the Fourth Estate, and why classical-Christian education matters more than ever.Thu, 24 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-sound-of-freedom/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-sound-of-freedom/The Sound of Freedom has shattered box-office expectations and drawn fierce opposition from elites — but the facts behind child sex trafficking are impossible to dismiss.Fri, 04 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/somewhere-in-time-how-second-chances-heal/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/somewhere-in-time-how-second-chances-heal/In the summer of 2018, my dad died — twice. His miraculous rescue by strangers on a sidewalk opened a door none of us expected, and taught me something profound about second chances.Fri, 04 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMTGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/reflections-on-grief-philip-yancey-and-nicholas-wolterstorff/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/reflections-on-grief-philip-yancey-and-nicholas-wolterstorff/Philip Yancey and Nicholas Wolterstorff have grappled with grief in ways that illuminate the path for the rest of us — reminding us that God doesn't explain our suffering so much as share it.Wed, 31 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/legacies-giveaway-winners/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/legacies-giveaway-winners/Congratulations to the three winners of our Legacies anniversary giveaways — and a heartfelt thank you to everyone who celebrated with us.Mon, 29 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/win-a-book-read-it-and-review-it/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/win-a-book-read-it-and-review-it/Book reviews are manna for authors and readers alike. This final giveaway invites you to win a copy of Legacies, read it, and share what you think.Mon, 22 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/mans-search-for-logos/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/mans-search-for-logos/Viktor Frankl taught that meaning is the primary force driving human life. In a culture drowning in division and despair, the search for logos — for meaning rooted in something eternal — has never mattered more.Tue, 16 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/whos-that-guy-enter-to-win-a-book/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/whos-that-guy-enter-to-win-a-book/Can you name the man in the picture and his connection to When Losses Become Legacies? This week's anniversary giveaway puts your knowledge to the test.Mon, 15 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-giveaway-to-honor-mom/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-giveaway-to-honor-mom/In one sentence, capture the woman who shaped you. This Mother's Day giveaway invites readers to honor their moms — whether here or on the other side of time.Sun, 07 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/when-losses-become-legacies-turns-one/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/when-losses-become-legacies-turns-one/To celebrate one year of When Losses Become Legacies, my co-author and I are hosting three weeks of book giveaways centered on honoring moms, art, and the power of reader reviews.Fri, 05 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/chicago-on-my-mind/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/chicago-on-my-mind/After thirty years in Chicagoland, our family left — driven by soaring crime, anti-family policies, and a state that seems intent on making things worse.Sun, 18 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/reflections-on-9-11/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/reflections-on-9-11/A visit to the Flight 93 Memorial stirs reflections on the consonance and dissonance of September 11 — and the courage our country desperately needs today.Sun, 11 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/blue-september-twenty-years-after-9-11/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/blue-september-twenty-years-after-9-11/Two decades after 9/11, the crystalline blue sky of that September morning remains seared in memory — a backdrop to senseless horror, uncommon courage, and a nation's reckoning with freedom's fragility.Sat, 11 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/our-anchor-our-hope-why-our-first-year-at-nca-has-made-all-the-difference/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/our-anchor-our-hope-why-our-first-year-at-nca-has-made-all-the-difference/Classical-Christian education is more than a schooling model — it's an anchor for the soul, equipping children with virtue, deep thinking, and an unshakable foundation in Christ.Tue, 09 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-year-the-world-closed-how-the-2020-pandemic-has-affected-childrens-mental-health/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-year-the-world-closed-how-the-2020-pandemic-has-affected-childrens-mental-health/School closures, isolation, and upheaval have taken a steep toll on children's mental health. Experts say the key to helping kids through it rests with parents and caregivers.Thu, 10 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-three-dimensions-of-character/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-three-dimensions-of-character/Surface behaviors, backstory, and high-stakes choices — fiction gives us access to all three dimensions of character. Larry Brooks explains how to develop and integrate each one.Fri, 03 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/be-the-hope/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/be-the-hope/My brother Jim would be fifty-four today. We lost him to suicide seven years ago. It's up to those of us who've lost a beloved to be the hope.Sun, 28 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/all-about-breastfeeding/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/all-about-breastfeeding/Breastfeeding and postpartum mental health are deeply connected. When everything else went wrong after the birth of my first child, nursing proved an oasis.Thu, 30 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-mindset-on-the-real-things/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-mindset-on-the-real-things/In one of the darkest weeks in U.S. history, light still crowds out the darkness — in armies of volunteers, transformed factories, and the simple pleasures of a slowed-down life.Mon, 06 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/writing-character-where-to-begin/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/writing-character-where-to-begin/The essence of story isn't character — it's conflict. Larry Brooks lays out seven key variables that give fiction writers a place to begin building rich, compelling characters.Sat, 04 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/for-the-love-of-new-york/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/for-the-love-of-new-york/From my first forty-eight hours in Manhattan to covering Ground Zero after 9/11, New York has always pulled at my heart. Now, as a pandemic empties its streets, the city's spirit endures.Sun, 29 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/friday-fact-on-little-house/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/friday-fact-on-little-house/Laura Ingalls Wilder didn't start writing the Little House series until she was in her sixties. For all of us with writing projects on the back burner: hope is immune to all viruses.Fri, 27 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-doing-what-you-cant/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-doing-what-you-cant/Wading into fiction after twenty years of journalism is freeing and daunting. During this pandemic season, may we push beyond our comfort zones and make ourselves good at something new.Mon, 23 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/friday-fact-amazon-king-of-publishing/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/friday-fact-amazon-king-of-publishing/Amazon controls over 80 percent of ebook sales, and alarmingly little stands in the way of it controlling the entire book industry. What does that mean for authors?Fri, 06 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-inspiration/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-inspiration/Van Gogh painted for only ten years and knew almost no success, yet he laid the foundations of modern art. May we take heart and keep writing, whether or not we know success.Mon, 02 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/friday-fact-on-publishing-books/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/friday-fact-on-publishing-books/Thirty years ago, there were half a million books on the market. Today, a new book may compete against fifteen million titles.Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-writing-books/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-writing-books/I never found the postpartum book I needed, so I wrote it. The best advice any writer can follow: write the book you wish you could read.Mon, 24 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/friday-fact-for-the-love-of-michelangelo/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/friday-fact-for-the-love-of-michelangelo/The Pieta was the only work Michelangelo ever signed — and he carved it from a perfect block of marble before he turned thirty.Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-remorse/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-remorse/Hemingway was complicated, but slivers of humility and remorse slip through his sealed prose — especially when it comes to the first wife he never stopped regretting.Mon, 17 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-six-competencies-of-storytelling-concept/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-six-competencies-of-storytelling-concept/Without a strong concept, your fiction won't float. Larry Brooks breaks down what separates a true concept from a mere idea — and how to know if yours is good enough.Tue, 11 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-errant-apostrophes/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-errant-apostrophes/Benjamin Dreyer's delightful take on the misused apostrophe — a charming excerpt from one of the best style manuals you'll ever read.Mon, 10 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-omitting/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-omitting/Sometimes the best thing you can do for a story is cut. Hemingway reminds us that what we leave out can make readers feel something more than they understand.Mon, 03 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/friday-fact-for-the-love-of-chocolate/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/friday-fact-for-the-love-of-chocolate/In 1659, Louis XIV granted the first known chocolatier in history the right to make and sell chocolate. Where might we be without the Sun King?Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-clarity/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/monday-quote-on-clarity/A reflection on the endless pursuit of clarity in writing, inspired by the French writer Joseph Joubert.Mon, 27 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/friday-fact-the-day-the-world-came-to-town/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/friday-fact-the-day-the-world-came-to-town/After 9/11, a pharmacist in Gander, Newfoundland, worked forty-two hours straight to fill stranded passengers' prescriptions — all at no cost.Fri, 10 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-six-core-competencies-of-storytelling/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-six-core-competencies-of-storytelling/Larry Brooks's six core competencies of storytelling offer writers a framework for crafting well-rounded, sellable fiction — no matter how you approach the page.Thu, 09 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-new-vision/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-new-vision/A new decade, a new vision for this site, and a reflection on why writers reach into their own heartbreak to help heal readers.Mon, 06 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/rewriting-history/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/rewriting-history/My grandmother fled war-torn Greece as a girl, only to have her dreams of college dashed by an arranged marriage. One day, I hope to tell her story.Thu, 05 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/an-uncle-with-flare/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/an-uncle-with-flare/My Uncle Dave was a rascal who sneaked cars at twelve and was married six times — but in his later years, his edges softened into something humble, faithful, and kind.Mon, 25 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/on-world-mental-health-day-a-nod-to-pmads-suicide-prevention/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/on-world-mental-health-day-a-nod-to-pmads-suicide-prevention/On World Mental Health Day, I reflect on losing my brother to suicide and my own battle with postpartum depression — and share an excerpt from my book on the perinatal mood disorders too many families face in silence.Thu, 10 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/from-the-ground-up-remembering-9-11/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/from-the-ground-up-remembering-9-11/On the morning of September 11, I was a Washingtonian living ten minutes from the Pentagon. The crystalline blue sky that day became illustrative of humanity's starkest contrasts.Wed, 11 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/to-begin-again/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/to-begin-again/The first day of school reveals a brand-new stage where unseen possibilities begin to dance. Parenthood is about dual-states — a constant embracing and letting go.Sat, 31 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/all-dads-are-cool/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/all-dads-are-cool/A year after my dad's passing, I discovered old Army photos of a well-dressed dandy I barely recognized — and came to see the cool guy he was before parenthood shaped him into the alpha-male who built tank engines and made chicken soup.Sat, 06 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/book-review-love-and-ruin/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/book-review-love-and-ruin/Paula McLain's novel reveals Martha Gellhorn — war correspondent, D-Day witness, and Hemingway's third wife — as far more than a footnote to someone else's life.Fri, 03 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/dreyers-english-every-writers-new-best-friend/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/dreyers-english-every-writers-new-best-friend/Style manuals are important but rarely fun — until Benjamin Dreyer's witty, essential guide came along. If you write or edit, this book will sharpen your prose and make you smile.Wed, 10 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/book-review-the-alice-network/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/book-review-the-alice-network/Kate Quinn's raw, vivid novel about a WWI spy and a young American searching for her lost cousin sent me on a journey through wartime courage, female resilience, and the redemptive truth that we don't need to stay broken.Thu, 04 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/is-postpartum-depression-preventable/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/is-postpartum-depression-preventable/New federal guidelines say counseling interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy can prevent perinatal depression in high-risk women — a proactive step that could change the trajectory for families.Wed, 27 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-the-pricey-new-drug-for-postpartum-depression-matters/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-the-pricey-new-drug-for-postpartum-depression-matters/The FDA has approved the first-ever drug made specifically for postpartum depression — but at more than 0,000, it raises urgent questions about access and whether PPD will finally be recognized as the unique illness it is.Fri, 22 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/postpartum-nightmares/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/postpartum-nightmares/Recurring nightmares are one of many under-covered topics in the postpartum world. A new Glamour article sheds light on why those terrifying images may actually signal a mother's deep bond with her baby.Fri, 01 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/what-does-uncomplicated-grief-feel-like/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/what-does-uncomplicated-grief-feel-like/After losing my mom to cancer and my brother to suicide, my dad's death surprised me with something unfamiliar: uncomplicated grief — in many ways, sweet.Wed, 09 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/10-things-all-writers-must-do/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/10-things-all-writers-must-do/No magic formula exists for writing success. But from reading voraciously to editing ferociously, here are ten things every writer should do — whether you're a best-selling novelist or just starting out.Thu, 15 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/life-transformed-katies-story/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/life-transformed-katies-story/Katie Stubblefield became the youngest person in U.S. history to receive a face transplant after a suicide attempt at eighteen — a brilliant reminder that God is still in the business of miracles.Wed, 22 Aug 2018 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-full-life-well-lived/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-full-life-well-lived/My dad's heart failed last month. In crafting his obituary for our twice-blended family, I honored the full, complex life of a Greek immigrant's son who served his country, raised his children, and never lost his love of donuts.Tue, 07 Aug 2018 00:00:00 GMTGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/when-postpartum-packs-a-punch-celebrates-one-year-gathers-wide-praise/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/when-postpartum-packs-a-punch-celebrates-one-year-gathers-wide-praise/My debut book marks one year at market, with libraries in 37 states, a TopShelf Indie Book Award nomination, and updated covers — a testament to the power of shared stories as a key to healing.Sat, 23 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/dads-and-motherless-daughters/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/dads-and-motherless-daughters/My dad has been Dad and Mom for almost three decades. Nothing breeds empathy for your parents like becoming one yourself.Sun, 17 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/suicide-isnt-selfish/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/suicide-isnt-selfish/Sipping tea from my Kate Spade wedding china the morning after her death, I'm reminded: we owe it to ourselves and the rising generations not to write off suicide as selfish.Wed, 06 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/how-do-u-s-schools-help-international-students-launch-their-futures/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/how-do-u-s-schools-help-international-students-launch-their-futures/From Mount Holyoke to the University of Dayton, U.S. colleges are going to great lengths to help international students launch careers — even as the climate for graduates from abroad grows trickier than ever.Tue, 17 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-classical-christian-schooling/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-classical-christian-schooling/A disappointing experience with our public school led us to classical-Christian education, where grammar, logic, and rhetoric shape our children's minds — and their faith anchors the whole endeavor.Thu, 05 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/journalism-can-defuse-shame-mental-illness/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/journalism-can-defuse-shame-mental-illness/When Vogue magazine covers postpartum anxiety, it's progress. In a world frequently ashamed of mental illness, our words carry great weight — powerful enough to defuse the shame.Fri, 30 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/book-review-lilac-girls/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/book-review-lilac-girls/Martha Hall Kelly's debut novel masterfully weaves fiction and history to illuminate Ravensbrück, Hitler's only all-women concentration camp — a place I never knew existed until I turned these pages.Thu, 29 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/finding-god-postpartum-fire/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/finding-god-postpartum-fire/A complicated birth, dark intrusive thoughts, and the absence of my mom hurled me into a postpartum furnace — but like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, I was not alone in the fire.Mon, 29 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsFaithGrief & LossMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/home-for-christmas/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/home-for-christmas/Chicago is my home — not because I was born here, but because it shaped me. At Christmastime, the city glows at least five times brighter, and there is no place I would rather be.Tue, 26 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/goodreads-giveaway-postpartum-packs-punch/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/goodreads-giveaway-postpartum-packs-punch/Goodreads is giving away free copies of my debut book on postpartum depression. Enter for a chance to win.Wed, 22 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMTWriting & Bookshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/affliction-hope/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/affliction-hope/Affliction breeds the strongest hope. We may not realize it while stuck in the mire, but it is there we build the strength that will one day bolster others.Fri, 10 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/pregnancy-infant-loss-grieving-well/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/pregnancy-infant-loss-grieving-well/Losing a baby is a tragedy that demands to be addressed. Grief is a lifelong process, but we have an amazing capacity for healing — to get stronger, rebuild, and help others along the way.Wed, 04 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/who-they-were/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/who-they-were/She was 46. He was 47. They both left the floor before the music stopped — but I dance on, inspired by my mother's resilience and my brother's strong character.Sun, 03 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMTGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/vancouver-the-beautiful/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/vancouver-the-beautiful/Ten days unplugged in British Columbia reminded me that stepping away from the noise is how we find our way back to the streams of creativity.Thu, 31 Aug 2017 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/can-go-home/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/can-go-home/A trip to Philadelphia to promote my book brought me back to the high-intensity rhythm of the East Coast — and to the graves of founding fathers who first pulled mental illness from the fringes.Sat, 22 Jul 2017 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/suicide-lets-talk-about-it/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/suicide-lets-talk-about-it/We still treat suicide as a stain on someone's character rather than the public-health crisis it is. Four years after losing my brother, I've learned that talking is our strongest weapon against stigma.Fri, 09 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/when-postpartum-packs-a-punch/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/when-postpartum-packs-a-punch/Parenthood is paradox from the beginning — miraculous and grueling. When postpartum illness strikes, story and shared suffering become our most powerful antidotes.Sun, 07 May 2017 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsFaithGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/hitch-wagon-star/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/hitch-wagon-star/After I told my kids to hitch their wagons to a star, my 5-year-old grabbed a grown-up book on mindful writing and my 8-year-old reached for a tome on Ancient Rome. Maybe Emerson is sinking in.Thu, 23 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/on-loving-and-losing/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/on-loving-and-losing/Explaining death to my children after losing two friends reminded me that the unnatural severing of the human heart is our most accurate sensation — a sign we are not quite at home here.Fri, 03 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/2988/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/2988/A letter to my brother on the third anniversary of his death — because depression may have won by human standards, but not by God's.Mon, 05 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/retroactive-grief/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/retroactive-grief/Watching friends send their children to college stirs a grief I didn't expect — mourning not just my mother, but the tears she never got to cry for me.Mon, 08 Aug 2016 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/strasbourg-cathedral-de-notre-dame/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/strasbourg-cathedral-de-notre-dame/Everything about Strasbourg's gothic cathedral draws the eye up — its light, its ancient expressions, its reminder that God is the source of all creativity.Mon, 01 Aug 2016 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/nice-vs-antibes-wheres-better-view/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/nice-vs-antibes-wheres-better-view/Stormy Antibes and sun-drenched Nice each offer their own shade of Mediterranean beauty — one cast in constant motion, the other in an edge-of-the-world calm.Fri, 29 Jul 2016 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/marvel-mont-saint-michel/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/marvel-mont-saint-michel/A dream on a hill in Normandy, Mont Saint-Michel has drawn pilgrims and monks for over a thousand years. The moment you step onto its tide-washed land, you feel the divine appointment of it all.Tue, 26 Jul 2016 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/streetside-paris/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/streetside-paris/All of Paris is art — from the symmetrical bliss of its streets to the scent of perfume, Vespa fumes, and crepes. If you have air in your lungs, this city will inspire you.Sat, 23 Jul 2016 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/month-of-france/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/month-of-france/France has such a distinct sense of place that when I leave, I miss it — its reverence for food, its tradition over profit, and the bedrock principles that no act of terror can snuff out.Thu, 21 Jul 2016 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/fleeing-breast-cancer-i-found-a-miracle/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/fleeing-breast-cancer-i-found-a-miracle/I scheduled my preventative double mastectomy in September to give that dreaded month a chance to redeem herself. She didn't disappoint.Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-i-said-yes-to-cancer-preventing-surgery/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-i-said-yes-to-cancer-preventing-surgery/After one too many MRI biopsies, I decided I wasn't taking another lap around that monstrous circle of hell. Cancer or not, I was finding a way out.Tue, 25 Aug 2015 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/on-being-a-mom-without-a-mom/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/on-being-a-mom-without-a-mom/Motherless mothering is its own wilderness. Without my mom's roadmap, I've had to define motherhood for myself — and teach my children about a grandmother they'll never know.Thu, 14 May 2015 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsFaithGrief & LossMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/what-the-living-can-learn-from-the-dying/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/what-the-living-can-learn-from-the-dying/Kara Tippetts dared to call breast cancer a 'great story' — and in doing so, she flew in the face of every fear I've harbored since my mom's death.Fri, 17 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsFaithGrief & LossMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/staying-healthy-after-losing-someone-to-suicide/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/staying-healthy-after-losing-someone-to-suicide/Sorrow isn't the enemy of joy — it's joy's fraternal twin. After my brother's suicide, I'm learning how to grieve well and live fully.Sat, 07 Mar 2015 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/suicide-and-stigma/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/suicide-and-stigma/Stigma chases those who've attempted suicide, those who grieve them, and even the professionals who treat them. Changing this starts with raising our voices.Tue, 27 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/you-are-i-am/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/you-are-i-am/A vivid dream of a lion, a psalm about protection, and a song called 'You Are, I Am' — God was speaking, even when I thought he wasn't listening.Mon, 29 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/grieving-at-the-holidays/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/grieving-at-the-holidays/The holidays after a suicide are a bitter cocktail of grief and expectation. Acting as if nothing happened doesn't help — but showing up does.Wed, 24 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/breast-cancer-history-please-dont-repeat/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/breast-cancer-history-please-dont-repeat/Six months of mammograms, biopsies, and fear led me back to the summer I watched my young mom die — and forward into taking charge of my own health.Thu, 11 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-upside-of-early-loss/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-upside-of-early-loss/Losing my mom as a teenager gave me coping skills I never expected to need again — until my brother took his life.Fri, 31 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/i-will-bring-you-flowers/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/i-will-bring-you-flowers/For 24 years Jim tended our mother's grave. Now my sister and I repay him, adorning his headstone beneath a big, old tree.Thu, 23 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMTGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/brother-died-by-suicide/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/brother-died-by-suicide/My brother was my protector, my surrogate mom, my best friend. In his dying words, he entrusted me with the story of his broken heart.Tue, 14 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/finding-god-in-the-depths/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/finding-god-in-the-depths/Losing my brother to suicide tested my faith in ways I never imagined, but God is drawing glory from the mire — even when I can't see how.Sun, 24 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/beating-breast-cancer-step-by-step/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/beating-breast-cancer-step-by-step/Walking 39 miles against breast cancer reminded me that we're not powerless in this fight — and that stress, the quiet killer, deserves far more attention.Wed, 11 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/turning-40/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/turning-40/Turning 40 was supposed to be a milestone I shared with my brother. Instead it's a bittersweet passage through deep sorrow and muted joy.Mon, 12 May 2014 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/forgiveness-suicide/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/forgiveness-suicide/Forgiveness after a suicide isn't forgetting — it's releasing the hurt to God, who can build something lovely from the ashes.Sat, 05 Apr 2014 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/identity-theft/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/identity-theft/My brother lost himself in a marriage that defined him, and the lies of worthlessness overwhelmed a man who never stopped extending grace.Thu, 27 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/not-enough-guilt-follows-suicide/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/not-enough-guilt-follows-suicide/The guilt that stalks after a loved one's suicide is relentless — but in the space between sadness and hope, I'm learning to let light return.Mon, 20 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/sorrow-strangely-sweet/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/sorrow-strangely-sweet/Postpartum depression, mother loss, my brother's suicide — life's most tragic stories aren't without beauty. Somehow, hardship makes joy sweeter, and redemption lurks in the mire.Tue, 17 Dec 2013 00:00:00 GMTGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-suicide-isnt-a-selfish-act/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-suicide-isnt-a-selfish-act/Calling suicide selfish is ignorant and hurtful. My brother was in extreme pain, and he believed his children would suffer less without him. That is not cowardice — it is a desperate, human response to unbearable agony.Sun, 08 Dec 2013 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/gifts-my-brother-gave-me/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/gifts-my-brother-gave-me/Since Jim died, I've been unwrapping 39 years of memories like gifts without a shelf life. Losing my mom was an unusual gift too — the space she left was filled by the siblings I came to know and love more deeply.Thu, 28 Nov 2013 00:00:00 GMTGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/talking-with-your-preschooler-about-death/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/talking-with-your-preschooler-about-death/I knew the question was coming, but not this soon. At bedtime my 4-year-old asked where my mommy was — and gave me a glimpse into the profound depth of his little soul.Sat, 17 Aug 2013 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & LossMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/have-it-all-no-variety-yes/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/have-it-all-no-variety-yes/I don't want to have it all. I just want variety — and the wisdom to find happiness in that way station between too little and too much.Sat, 13 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-big-walk/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-big-walk/I walked 39.3 miles through Chicago in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer — pushing back, for the first time physically, against the disease that stole my mom.Thu, 06 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/going-back-to-preschool/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/going-back-to-preschool/My first-born's last day of preschool reminded me that the tiny years are fleeting — and that thanks to Noah, I'm going back to school too.Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/just-say-no-to-inducing-labor/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/just-say-no-to-inducing-labor/I induced labor for convenience and paid dearly for it. Childbirth isn't something you schedule into a tidy life-list — and my second, natural delivery proved how much better it can be.Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/faith-over-fear-2/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/faith-over-fear-2/The Boston Marathon bombing carried me back to 9/11 and the fear that followed. Christ died to free us from fear — and in an increasingly terrifying world, faith is the only promise of sanity.Sat, 27 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/when-moms-die-young/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/when-moms-die-young/Hearing the story of a young mother dying from breast cancer stirred my deepest fear: that my motherless history could repeat itself, and my babies would navigate this world without me.Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & LossMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/clovers-toys/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/clovers-toys/My 4-year-old discovered how functional his pants are — and used them to smuggle a puppy's chew toys out of the pet store.Sat, 23 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/unqualified/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/unqualified/I was unqualified for motherhood — a motherless overachiever with more trust in her resume than in God. But he continually chooses the most unqualified to bear his glory.Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & LossMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/turning-4/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/turning-4/My son's birth was my rebirth. Through the trauma of a forceps delivery and postpartum depression, God shouted loud enough to reach a woman who had gone deaf to him.Sat, 02 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & LossMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/an-icon-of-the-true/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/an-icon-of-the-true/At the Writing for the Soul conference, I was reminded that before I can create anything, I must first acknowledge that I too was created — and that the time to write is now.Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsFaithhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/dying-well/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/dying-well/On what would have been my mom's 70th birthday, I reflect on heaven, cancer and the lost art of dying well — and how her final days were a quiet masterclass in all three.Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-broken-leading-edge/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-broken-leading-edge/Generation X children of divorce carry a broken leading edge — spiritual stories shaped by loss. But God can take a generation's fractured faith and turn it into something glorious.Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMTFaithMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-not-so-great-divorce/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-not-so-great-divorce/My parents' divorce didn't just split a household — it snuffed out part of my existence. Thirty years later, I'm still untangling what it means to have your being divided between two worlds.Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMTFaithMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/feeling-guilty-for-what-im-not/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/feeling-guilty-for-what-im-not/Motherhood has a way of magnifying every inadequacy. I'm learning to celebrate the gifts God gave me instead of drowning in guilt over the woman I'm not.Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsFaithMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/taking-back-the-night/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/taking-back-the-night/The brutal gang rape in New Delhi forced me to confront my own mother's story and the uncomfortable truth that the objectification and assault of women is far from a thing of the past.Mon, 07 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/looking-for-moms-and-healthcare-experts/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/looking-for-moms-and-healthcare-experts/I'm seeking moms who endured difficult pregnancies, complicated births, or postpartum struggles to share their stories for a book proposal about surviving the brutal first days of motherhood.Thu, 25 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/rarefied-air/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/rarefied-air/Climbing Pikes Peak taught me something about growing up motherless: it's harder to breathe in rarefied air, but the thin atmosphere makes it easier to hear God's voice.Wed, 19 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/my-mothers-faith/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/my-mothers-faith/A childhood autograph book revealed my mother's unwavering faith — a faith forged through abuse, abandonment, and loss that she passed to me like a torch before she died.Tue, 07 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/are-women-afraid-of-each-other/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/are-women-afraid-of-each-other/Deep friendships between women are rare, life-giving, and sometimes frightening. As my best friend moves across the country, I explore why female intimacy matters — and why so many women avoid it.Sun, 08 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMTWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/uncomfortably-numb/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/uncomfortably-numb/Mothering two young children has dulled my once-sharp mind and stalled my writing career. But chasing perfection is the real enemy — and God is bigger than the zombie zone of early motherhood.Thu, 07 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMTFaithMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/attachment-parenting-1970s-style/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/attachment-parenting-1970s-style/My mom nursed me until I was five — long before attachment parenting had a name. That fierce bond gave me an emotional reservoir I still draw from as a mother myself.Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/moms-milkformulaa-happy-baby/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/moms-milkformulaa-happy-baby/My friend Annabelle found her own unconventional path — pumping exclusively and supplementing with formula — proving that the best feeding plan is the one that works for mom and baby.Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-joy-of-nursing/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-joy-of-nursing/A fellow journalist shares how a lactation consultant transformed her early struggles into nearly two years of nursing — and some of the most cherished moments of her life.Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/your-son-will-be-fat-lazy-and-sick/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/your-son-will-be-fat-lazy-and-sick/When my cousin Rachel switched to formula, a close friend warned her son would be fat, lazy, and sick. Years later, he's thriving — and the friendship still bears the scars.Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/got-milk/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/got-milk/Breastfeeding carries real economic and social costs, from lost earnings to public scorn. Moms deserve support — not judgment — no matter how they choose to feed their babies.Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-bright-one/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-bright-one/I finally learned the gender of the baby I lost between my two children — a girl. Naming her Lena Karen gave her a wholeness that grief alone could never provide.Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-time-for-everything/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-time-for-everything/On my son's third birthday, I returned to the Chicago neighborhood where he was born and reflected on how motherhood dismantled my old life — and slowly built a new one.Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-raising-a-child/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-raising-a-child/A day of field reporting reminded me how much I love journalism — and revealed that the skills of chasing a story aren't so different from the work of raising children.Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/joy-comes/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/joy-comes/After a traumatic first birth left me doubting myself and God, my daughter's arrival reminded me that weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMTFaithMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/what-not-to-say-to-pregnant-women/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/what-not-to-say-to-pregnant-women/From 'Are you carrying twins?' to 'Your life will never be the same' — a catalog of the thoughtless remarks people lob at expectant mothers, and why they need to stop.Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/motherhood-its-about-rhythm-not-balance/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/motherhood-its-about-rhythm-not-balance/We chase balance like a unicorn we'll never catch. What new mothers really need is rhythm — a grace-filled way of moving through each unbalanced season of life.Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMTFaithMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/doing-what-requires-the-most-faith/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/doing-what-requires-the-most-faith/A hospital tour sent me spiraling back to my son's traumatic birth. As my daughter's arrival nears, I'm learning that the path requiring the most faith is exactly where God wants me.Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & LossMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/i-write-therefore-i-am/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/i-write-therefore-i-am/Writing is how I make sense of the world, and the pain of my son's traumatic birth is what set me on a new path — using journalism to honor God and help other women through motherhood's hardest seasons.Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsFaithhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-dog-daze-of-pregnancy/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-dog-daze-of-pregnancy/The final weeks of pregnancy are a slog of crushed lungs, swinging hormones, and relentless monotony — but inside the discomfort, a daughter is coming to life, and she is worth every ache.Sat, 09 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/not-enough-time-in-the-day/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/not-enough-time-in-the-day/A press secretary and mother of two young girls shares the daily struggle of being perpetually on call — at work and at home — and wishing for more time to simply enjoy her children.Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/marriage-interrupted/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/marriage-interrupted/After 13 years at home with four children, my cousin Laura has found that the biggest emotional hurdle of stay-at-home motherhood isn't identity — it's the strain on her marriage.Sun, 19 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/from-full-time-corporate-lawyer-to-full-time-mom/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/from-full-time-corporate-lawyer-to-full-time-mom/When my friend Laura left her high-powered law career to stay home, she lost the identity she'd spent years building — and discovered a richer, more expansive definition of herself.Thu, 16 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/confronting-guilt-and-feeling-like-a-real-mom/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/confronting-guilt-and-feeling-like-a-real-mom/A full-time teacher and mother of two reflects on the guilt that shadows every school event she misses — and how volunteering in her sons' classrooms is the only time she feels like a real mom.Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/modern-motherhood-is-freedom-its-own-trap/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/modern-motherhood-is-freedom-its-own-trap/A highly educated generation of mothers has more choices than ever — and more stress. The emerging wisdom: you can have it all, just not all at once.Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/when-i-have-fears/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/when-i-have-fears/My son's birth left my body broken and my mind reeling with post-traumatic thoughts. As I approach my daughter's delivery, I'm learning to hand my deepest fears to the only One who can wrestle them to the ground.Tue, 24 May 2011 00:00:00 GMTFaithGrief & Losshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-conversation-with-jerry-jenkins/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-conversation-with-jerry-jenkins/Best-selling author Jerry Jenkins reminded our writing group that a good book idea can ripen with age, that family comes first, and that great writers never stop learning.Mon, 23 May 2011 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsFaithhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/an-emotional-walk-of-faith/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/an-emotional-walk-of-faith/The identity shift from career woman to new mother felt like a door slamming shut on my old life. It took time — and faith — to discover that where I was didn't have to define who I am.Thu, 12 May 2011 00:00:00 GMTCurrent EventsFaithMotherhoodWellnesshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-mother-lost-a-mother-born/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/a-mother-lost-a-mother-born/Losing my mother at 15 left a grief I carried into every milestone. Becoming a mother myself reopened the wound — and, unexpectedly, began to heal it.Mon, 09 May 2011 00:00:00 GMTGrief & LossMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/report-ranks-norway-as-best-country-for-mothers/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/report-ranks-norway-as-best-country-for-mothers/Save the Children ranks Norway the best place to be a mother and the U.S. a dismal 31st — a wake-up call about maternal mortality, child health, and America's stingy maternity-leave policies.Thu, 05 May 2011 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-privilege-of-pregnancy/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/the-privilege-of-pregnancy/Insensitive comments about weight, body changes, and bleak predictions nearly eclipsed the joy of my first pregnancy. Carrying life is a privilege — not an invitation for unsolicited negativity.Mon, 02 May 2011 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/learning-to-revel-in-a-loss-of-control/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/learning-to-revel-in-a-loss-of-control/Motherhood dismantled my carefully managed to-do lists — and taught me that God's timing, not my own sense of control, is the safest place to land.Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMTMotherhoodhttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/staying-smart-about-online-learning/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/staying-smart-about-online-learning/As online learning surges into K-12 classrooms, parents and educators must weigh its promise against the irreplaceable social skills children develop face to face.Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMTCurrent Eventshttps://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-mama-writes/https://www.kristinacowan.com/blog/why-mama-writes/A traumatic birth, a failing thyroid, and a season of darkness led me back to writing — this time with a fire to honor God and the women who've done battle at the doorway of motherhood.Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMTMotherhood