“It’s too late,” many of my psychotherapy patients said with downcast eyes and frowning mouths, “It’s all over.” “What’s too late?” I asked, worried that I was about to hear about a death in the family or a cancer diagnosis. “Friendship,” they replied.Huh, I wondered, had they tried to make new frie...

A collaboration with the Westfield High School Journalism Program

A collaboration with the Westfield High School Journalism ProgramOn the first day of senior year, I walked into school already preparing myself for disaster. Not because of the major workload and stress of college applications, but because of the new block schedule that was implemented at Westfield ...

“Breathe in gently and deeply through your nose. Exhale slowly and fully through your mouth. Clear your mind and allow your breath to find its natural rhythm.”That’s the instruction for most mindfulness meditation. You may have tried this in yoga classes or by listening to your favorite meditation a...

I was driving my daughter’s 12year-old friend home one night when she told me “Doctors withhold cures to keep people sick to make money.” My heart was breaking, as I gently told her that none of the hundreds of physicians that I knew wanted anything except the best treatment for their patients. Year...

Last week, we published an article about Union County’s plans to tear down a 150-year-old grove of Oak trees to make way for a new ice rink at Warinanco Park. This project, or at least some iteration of it, has been in the works for years across multiple locations. It has served as an election-year ...

I am an upcoming 10th grader at Westfield High School, and I was fortunate to attend the Vanishing Westfield Neighborhoods: The African American Experience Exhibit curated by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Westfield. The experience deeply moved me, especially learning about the closur...

A celebration of nurses filled the last two gratitude columns. Nurses’ compassionate devotion to every patient, even at the end of 12-hour shifts, is the pinnacle of human kindness. They attend to the physical and emotional well-being of every patient, regardless of age, race, or condition. “How do ...

The May 8 Leader published a cartoon featuring two canines. One said to the other “Oh sure, they mess with ancient DNA and gene editing technology, and here I am, the dire wolf. I’m warm and cuddly now, but once I grow up and eat a few people, I’ll be the bad guy again.” Cartoonist Neseman’s inspira...

Lately, I’ve been hearing a growing wave of concern about mail-in ballots (VBMs): how they’re sent out, how they’re counted, and whether they’re truly secure. This concern isn’t unfounded—it’s being fueled by a flood of misinformation that’s threatening to undermine the confidence in one of the most...