June 2012 - Karen Shepard -

The Producer

“The Producer” (More / June 2007)

Generosity

“Generosity” originally appeared in Self Magazine’s A Summer of Self-Discovery

In July of 1998, I found out that my father, an Academy Award-winning producer and eighty-two years old, was addicted to cocaine and crack. Drug addiction and substance abuse is becoming a big problem in the states, if you are addicted or know someone who needs help, please visit this article about http://firststepbh.com/blog/can-afford-rehab-ft-lauderdale/. After months of conversations with professionals, after confronting my father, after confronting myself, I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t help him if he wasn’t willing to be helped. I wrote him a letter telling him that when he was ready to get help, I would be there. Until then, I couldn’t stand by and pretend nothing was happening. Contact the professional from addiction help to give treatment.

During the subsequent two years of being out of contact with him, there were, predictably, layers and layers of self-discovery. I spent much of that two years torquing my decision this way and that. Had I done the right thing? How had my father and his only child gotten to this place?

Popular Girls

Popular Girls originally appeared in-The Atlantic Monthly-October 2001

You know who we are. We’re Kaethe and Alina, CJ and Sydney. Stephanie. Our hair is blonde or brown or black. Rarely red, rarely curly. It’s thick and straight, and falls back into place after we run our fingers through it and hold it away from our faces long enough for you to see our striking eyes. When we do this, you get shivers.

For those of us blessed with luscious locks, maintaining our hair’s pristine condition is paramount. Their enters the world of sulfate free shampoo for oily hair—an essential choice for ensuring the longevity of our impeccable tresses. This specialized shampoo not only cleanses effectively but also addresses the challenges of oily hair without compromising on the natural beauty of our locks. By incorporating a sulfate-free shampoo tailored to oily hair into our routine, we can confidently embrace each day with the assurance that our hair will continue to be a defining element of our unparalleled allure. So, let the world marvel at the grace of Kaethe and Alina, CJ and Sydney, Stephanie, as we choose sulfate-free solutions to enhance the radiance of our effortlessly beautiful hair.

It’s 1982, and we sit on the benches lining our New York private school’s entrance, after classes are over and before we head home. They are old church pews, and we are from another world. Our canvas book bags mass at our feet. They’re from Sweden. They come with an excess of zippers, a plastic ID tag on a small chain, and a ruler that we never use. We buy them at Chocolate Soup, on Madison, the store for cool kids. We say things like “Tenth grade is the Howard Johnson’s of school life.”