Estelle Erasmus

Photo courtesy of Estelle Erasmus
It was supposed to be an uneventful trip. I was traveling with my 10-year-old daughter from my parent’s home in Maryland back to the hotel we were staying at in Virginia. I had called for an Uber driver using the app on my phone. Because it was a long trip (45 minutes to an hour with traffic), I had ordered a Comfort ride, which means nicer, roomier, safer SUVs. The luxe car that pulled up didn’t disappoint.
With my daughter standing beside me, I did what I’d...

Want your child to have a more fulfilling adolescence? Then—Doctor’s orders—get them a furry friend, fast. Here’s why.
Every parent with a tween or teen child has had that moment when your child begs you to get a pet. You may have considered it, but now there are more reasons than ever to make that leap into pet ownership. In my experience, though we have a cat who is attached to me, I am seriously thinking about getting my 10-year-old a dog to give her an “emotional support” of her own. It t...

As the host/curator of the podcast for the American Society of Journalists and Authors called ASJA Direct: Inside Intel on Getting Published and Paid Well (a free ASJA member benefit), I’ve interviewed dozens of editors from Kyle Pope of the Columbia Journalism Review, to Donna Talarico, of HippocampusMagazine (a literary publication), to James Taranto, of the Wall Street Journal to Beth Dreher, Features Director for Woman’s Day.
I’ve also been the magazine editor-in-chief for five national c...

Getty
The Economic Policy Institute just released a report showing that 59% of teachers nationwide—a mostly female-dominated profession— turn to moonlighting or side jobs to supplement their income. Often, the side gigs are not just to supplement their income, but to actually allow them to pay the bills, because they are not making enough at their jobs.
Nobody is saying that teaching—particularly, in public schools—is a high paying profession, but according to the latest report, the news is d...

Marissa Orr began her Google career over 15 years ago as a founding member of Google’s Sales Operations & Strategy team, after which she worked as Vertical Marketing Manager at Facebook, where she worked for a micromanaging boss who diminished and demeaned her. During that time and since then, she has conducted talks and workshops for thousands of people across the globe.
She is author of the new book Lean Out: The Truth About Women, Power, and the Workplace (HarperCollins Leadership, availab...

Olga Mecking, who lives in the Netherlands, might have started out working as a translator, but today she is most definitely also a widely published journalist who covers parenting, immigration, language, food, women and sometimes, science or health. She is also a wife and mom with kids ages 6, 8 and 10 and her bylines are everywhere.
Olga wrote about the spiral of silence,or why people don’t speak up forThe Cut, about how direct (not rude) the Dutch are for the BBC, and about the art of doin...

A former actress, Zaman says she moved away from the traditional path of the acting industry to create more agency, power, and voice in her life and career.
I Am Yours is the story of Reema Zaman’s relentless fight to protect and harness her voice as she learns how to release the societal and cultural restrictions that have plagued her and many other women. From her childhood in Bangladesh to life in Thailand, New York, and finally, Oregon, I Am Yours uncovers the reality of the female and hu...

Some professional writers didn’t start out as writers. They came to the realization slowly, or maybe they always knew they wanted to write but weren’t sure how to get started. Others may have been working hard in their first career, but then by some twist of fortune or fate, figured out that the muse was always within. As a writing coach, I always tell my students—whether newbies or seasoned writers— to not only do the work, but also work on building a platform. Engaging your audience with tw...

Straus News (organizer for Girls World Expo 2018 Tristate)
The day of our interview, Wendy Kwan has just come from volunteering for WGirls at Project G.L.A.M.where she brought her 10-year-old daughter to help her and other volunteers organize, sort, and select prom dresses for underprivileged girls.
“It felt good to make a difference,” said Kwan, who is no ordinary volunteer.
She represents JstBU(“Just Be You”) Fashions, her nascent company (less than a year old) that offers fashionable essen...

The Prom, a Broadway musical, tells the intertwining story of a troupe of liberal, diva-like, narcissistic, New York City actors looking for a cause to redeem themselves with after a professional failure— which they find in a lesbian couple from the Midwest fighting a conservative PTA for the right to go to the prom together.
The show ( a New York Times Critics Pick), which is winning raves on Broadway, is one of Tony-award-winning Broadway co-producer, ( Dear Evan Hansen, Beautiful) Ken Fakl...

How to take the air out of teasing. Segment on Good Morning America 5/30/2019

They should have stayed focused on the midlife market.
I read with dismay that the parent company of Dressbarn, Ascena Retail Group, will be closing all 650 of its stores. The reason? The company, which also owns fiscally healthier Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant, claims it wants to focus on its other, more profitable brands.
“This decision was difficult, but necessary, as the Dressbarn chain has not been operating at an acceptable level of profitability in today’s retail environment,” said Steven...

The hypnotic techno music surrounded me with the acoustic thump of a porno flick. Naked from the waist up, I looked at my date ― clad in a towel from the waist down. Then, flush with anticipation and a little fear, I put my hand in his, and together we stepped into an exclusive sex club for couples in New York City.
I was a 31-year-old perks-rich, cash-poor woman’s magazine editor, who penned a column as the “Dating Diva.”
None of my readers would have believed what I was doing. My motto had ...

As a widely published writing coach, guest editor for Narratively, and an adjunct instructor in writing for New York University and Writer’s Digest, I have noticed that many writers make the mistake of producing ultra-revealing stories for clicks that never take their careers anywhere.
I recall writers detailing embarrassing physical deformities (that couldn’t be seen), affairs with married men they later married, or a hidden sex life as a Dominatrix, divorces, mental illness, missing limbs, ...

iStock
When my 10-year-old daughter was shunned by her friends a few years ago, we tried a surprisingly effective anti-bullying strategy.
The trouble started during a play date when three little girls battled over who would wear the one sparkly gown for dress-up. It ended up my daughter’s prize, infuriating one of the girls who told the rest not to play with her. My daughter defended herself, crying, as the other girls continued to taunt her.
Searching for answers, I came upon the work of Izz...