About Cougel
New York, NY
What happens when Cougel, the divorced Jewish Cougar, marries a Christian Cub?
Corona and Social Distancing: Should we Change How we Live? Or, Live to Make Change?
This is a wacky new normal. NYC is in a state of disorientation of fear and alert, with untold casualties. For me it echoes Hurricane Sandy, where the streets were empty; people stumbling along like zombies in the afflicted areas, yet in some unaffected pockets, life went on as usual. My husband and friends, a community from […]
My To-Do-List / 2019
…and probably 2018 too. It’s been awhile since I posted my happenings, and so when I revisited my journal of things I wanted to accomplish, along with the scratched out items of things I would probably never get around to (my “Shit I’ll Never Do List”) I arrived at a semi-clear list that encapsulates both: […]
The 100th Corner: On Never Giving Up
What a difference a year makes. One year ago, I was reeling from abrupt setbacks and disappointments. My beloved dog of 13 years had passed, my job suddenly changed, and my writing aspirations continued to elude me. When I was 21, an optimistic college graduate whose future shown bright with possibility, my path had been […]
To 2017, and the Festival of Lights
2017 began with a big stinking thud, where many of our fears of what the year was to bring unfurled before us, where those fears materialized into realities. It was a year of tragic loss of life with mass shootings, hurricanes, fires, political unrest, distrust, where ugly secrets and heinous abuses against women were revealed. […]
Goodbye my friend, my heart.
I said goodbye to Gemma, my dog of almost thirteen years, yesterday. I had prepared myself for its inevitability for years, with morbid humor, with extra special attention and kisses, and by telling myself that establishing expectations for impending grief can help mitigate it when it comes. How naive of me that was. And yet also, […]
In These Times, Can Reading Fiction Help Create Empathy?
On election night, I, like many, had a meltdown when Trump was in the lead. From the get-go, I struggled with much of his rhetoric, and that it somehow didn’t prevent him from being elected (perhaps the biggest bitter pill to swallow). I also have some friends and family, people I trust and respect, who […]
Our Lives, Our Selves: On Integrating Multiple Personas
Ten years ago, I departed from a different life, a different “me.” Sometimes I am struck with a shock of dislocation and ask myself, who was that woman, that girl, living in a house in Hollywood, driving to pitch meetings, developing screenplays with my screenwriting partner who was also my husband, who I met in […]
Running, Writing, and When an Addictive Personality Can be Useful
I’ve had people ask me recently, “How did you write a novel, with a full time job? And how are you, a forty something Jewish chick who was never a sports or exercise enthusiast, suddenly running every day?” Because of motivation and discipline – sure. Both are required to complete an arduous and lengthy task […]