When I recently visited Berlin, Germany, I was struck by the extraordinary abundance of world-class museums dedicated to art and history. Berlin has long been a crossroads of culture, politics, and intellectual life, but in the twentieth century it also became a stage for some of the most devastating global conflicts in human history. To visit historical museums there is to step into a space of collective trauma—to prepare yourself to encounter the evidence of pain, hatred, a

My husband once sent me a photo of a basket filled with beaded bracelets, each a different color and each representing a particular kind of power. He asked which one I wanted. I immediately gravitated toward the bluish-gray beads. When I learned the associated power was “Power to Be Kind,” I liked it even more. This one was for me. Crystals and minerals have been associated with energy, healing, and protection across cultures for centuries. Whether taken literally or symbolic

My husband, Cas, is a large man. He’s seventy years old and he’s had his share of health challenges. Yet he’s never unhappy with himself. When I project that he might feel self-conscious, or try to make him feel “better” about some perceived flaw, he shrugs and says, “I’m fine. I like myself.” He’s not just body positive. He’s Cas positive. Body positivity is usually defined as accepting the body you have and enjoying it regardless of changes that happen naturally with aging