About Me

Since you asked…

I’ve been a freelance writer and editor for the past 20 years. I’ve pursued a dual-track career, composing consumer articles and books on health, nutrition, fitness, psychology, craft, pet, entertainment and lifestyle topics, as well as continuing education materials for health professionals for print, web, audio and video formats.

My work has been published in over 30 consumer magazines and newsletters such as Bottom Line/Personal, First for Women, Fitness, Glamour, McCall’s, New Woman, Reader’s Digest, Redbook, Shape and Woman’s Day, and on the worldwide web. I also regularly contribute to Through the Needle and Today’s Health and Wellness on creativity topics. One of my articles on cervical cancer and the human papilloma virus, published in Shape, won the 2004 Health Information Resource Center Silver Award.

I’ve written two books: Craft to Heal: Soothing Your Soul with Sewing, Painting, and Other Pastimes, published by Wheatmark Publishing in 2005, and The Smart Guide to Boosting Your Energy, published by John Wiley and Sons in 1999.

I’m a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, as well as the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild (I used to be an actress!). I’ve received media training and have appeared on several television programs and performed satellite media tours in support of my articles and as a spokesperson. I’m a member of Toastmasters International, where I’ve honed my speaking skills, and I’ve done several live speeches related to my book Craft to Heal. I’m also listed in Who’s Who of American Women.

I graduated magna cum laude from Boston University with a major in communication and a minor in psychology. Since then, I’ve taken numerous continuing education courses in graphic design, web design, and entertainment writing.

On the personal side, to know me is to know my dog Zoey (that’s her on the right). I’ve always been crazy about dogs, movies, books and television. If it’s pop culture, I’m into it! I’m also a crafty type. I like to make all kinds of different things, including mixed-media art quilts (see the Craft to Heal page of this website and my blog). I also play tennis and can occasionally be found taking a walk in the woods.

Publication List

  • Artist’s Sketchbook
  • Baby on the Way
  • Bottom Line/Health
  • Bottom Line/Personal
  • Bottom Line/Women’s Health
  • Consumer Reports on Health
  • Family Circle
  • First for Women
  • Fitness
  • Glamour
  • Healthy Woman
  • In Touch Weekly
  • Johns Hopkins White Paper on Anxiety and Depression
  • Johns Hopkins White Paper on Digestive Diseases
  • Johns Hopkins White Paper on Nutrition and Weight Control
  • Managing Menopause
  • Medizine
  • McCall’s
  • More
  • New Woman
  • Parenting
  • Prevention’s Guide to Weight Loss
  • Quilter’s Home
  • Reader’s Digest
  • Redbook
  • Smart Health
  • Shape
  • She
  • The Female Patient
  • Today’s Health and Wellness
  • Through the Needle
  • USAir Magazine
  • Vegetarian Times
  • Washington Woman
  • Weight Watchers Magazine
  • Woman’s Day
  • Woman’s World

An Abridged List of My Published Articles

Boston Magazine’s Home & Garden

  • The Ultimate Paint Primer 2003

Bottom Line Personal

  • Dr. Bernie Siegel’s Happiness Boosters 2006
  • “All You Need is Love”…and Other Lies About Marriage 2006

Bottom Line Women’s Health

  • Birth Control After 40 2009
  • Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis 2009
  • Time to Stop Feeling Like You’re Not Good Enough 2009
  • How Not to Regain Lost Weight 2008
  • The Art of Being a Woman Alone 2008

Family Circle

  • The Best Birth Control for You 2007

First for Women

  • Are You Using the Best Birth Control? 2002
  • Protect your Breasts (Without the Stress) 2002
  • There’s a Better Breast Test, First in Health Column 2000
  • Sleep Debt, First in Health Column 1999
  • A Breakthrough Way to Treat Fibroids, First in Health Column 1998
  • Tap Into Your Hidden Energy, Your Feelings Column 1995
  • Conquer Negative Thoughts, Your Feelings Column 1995
  • Don’t Ignore Your Hunches, Your Feelings Column 1995
  • Marriage Doesn’t Mean Giving Up Single Friends 1994
  • The Healing Power of Pets 1991
  • How to Encourage Honesty 1991
  • Health Column 1995-2000
  • Feelings/Psychology Column 1995-1996

Fitness

  • Stop Wrestling with Shadows 1992

Glamour

  • Calming the Hell in Your Head (Migraines) 1997
  • The Best News Yet About the Pill! 1997
  • Contraception at 20, 30, 40 1997
  • New Over-the-Counter Drugs 1996
  • How to Prevent and Minimize Scars 1995
  • Recognizing Thyroid Trouble 1995
  • Health & Fitness Column with Stephanie Young 1994
  • Ulcers 1994
  • Sinusitis 1994
  • Raynaud’s Phenomenon 1993
  • Update on Fibroid Tumors 1993
  • Taking Drugs Safely 1993
  • 10 Healthy Moves to Make Before You Get Pregnant 1993
  • Take Control of Your Health 1992
  • Sexual Health, Yours and His 1992
  • Ectopic Pregnancy Is on the Rise 1992
  • Menstrual Mayhem 1992
  • Is Norplant for You? 1991
  • Endometriosis Update 1991

In Touch

  • 40 Now! Why It’s Hotter Than Ever 2003
  • Do You Have to Diet After 40? (bit) 2003
  • Top 10 Star Diets 2003
  • What’s the Secret to Perfect Posture? (bit) 2003
  • How Stars Cope with Depression 2003

McCall’s

  • How Safe is Anesthesia Today? 1996
  • My Sinuses Are Killing Me! 1996

Moneysworth

  • Real-Life Lessons in Starting a Business 1997

More

  • Are You Stuck With That Spare Tire? 2007
  • The Anatomy of Desire 2006

Parenting

  • Erasing Spider Veins 1997
  • Clear-Skin Solutions 1997

Quilter’s Home

  • Let Your Quilts Stand on Their Own 2007
  • Breaking the Quilting Rules 2007
  • Get Back on the Creative Track (And Out of the Rut You’re In!) 2006
  • MindMap Your Next Quilt 2006
  • When You’re Too Pooped to Piece 2006

Reader’s Digest

  • Wedding-Day Keepsakes for a Song (bit) 2002

Redbook

  • New, Diet-Free Ways to Lose Weight 2002
  • Can Bread Really Make You Fat? 2000
  • 7 Cancer Facts You Need to Know Now 2001
  • Could It Be an Allergy? 1993

Shape

  • Can Red Wine Burn Fat? Weight Loss Q&A 2007
  • How to Give Great Gifts (item) 2005
  • Traveling Tails (item) 2005
  • Find the Upside of Regret (item) 2005
  • Mood Boosters of the Month (Movie Reviews) 2005
  • Pounds Off Prescription (item) 2005
  • Father’s Day Favorites 2005
  • End Your Panic Attack (item) 2005
  • Cold vs. Canker Sores: The Right Solution 2005
  • How Not to Get Sick on Vacation 2005
  • 4 Ways to Find Meaning 2005
  • Declutter Your Life 2005
  • Bye –Bye, Family Feuds 2004
  • Jump Start Your Social Life 2004
  • Party Hearty—But Smart (item) 2004
  • Birth Control for the Migraine-Prone (item) 2004
  • 5 Important Adult Vaccines (item) 2004
  • Reduce Your Cervical Cancer Risk 2003
  • Feel Faint? Cross Your Legs (item) 2003
  • Get the Skills You Need to Get Active (item) 2003
  • Movies Can Help What Ails You (item) 2003
  • Test Your “IQ” (Intuition Quotient) (item) 2002
  • The Power of Positive Choices (item) 2002
  • Quitting Solutions (item) 2002
  • What Really Works for Jet Lag (item) 2002
  • 10 Worst Road Foods (item) 2002
  • Herpes: More Than One Type to Avoid (item) 2002
  • Taking the Worry Out of Pap Tests (item) 2002
  • A Wider Window for Emergency Contraception (item) 2002
  • Moderate Exercise Sheds Pounds (item) 2002
  • Weight-Control Update (item) 2002
  • Fertility Update (item) 2002
  • Hormone Doesn’t Help PMS (item) 2002
  • STD Alert (item) 2002
  • What Helps Tennis Elbow? (item) 2002
  • Three Things That Don’t Cause Weight Gain (item) 2002
  • What Not to Take with the Pill (item) 2002
  • Tame Your Raging Hormones 2002
  • Light Up Your Smile 2001

Through the Needle

  • Breaking the Quilting Rules! 2009
  • Sewing with Both Sides of Your Brain 2009
  • Back on the Creative Track! 2007
  • Incomparable Quilts 2007

Today’s Health and Wellness

  • The Healthy Side of the Economy 2009
  • Walk Toward the Light 2007
  • Battling with Your Belly (IBS) 2007
  • Creativity Cracks the Aging Code 2007
  • The Cooling Effect (Alternative Relief for Hot Flashes) 2007
  • Soothe Your Soul: Get a Hobby 2006
  • See a Movie and Call Your Psychologist in the Morning 2006
  • Sexual Response: Old Myths and New Truths About Your Sexuality 2006
  • The Ultimate Diet 2006
  • Dash for Your Health 2005

Weight Watchers Magazine

  • Grass Roots Goes Mainstream 1996
  • Family Affairs 1995

Woman’s Day

  • The Healing Power of Crafts 2001
  • The Road to Recovery 2001
  • Sinusitis, WD Checkup 2001
  • Think You Can’t Lose Weight? Five Surprising Strategies to Get It Off 2000
  • 10 Dieting Lessons 1995