Category Archives: Social Commentary

Coronavirus Libraries and Competing with My Ex

A charming Little Free Library where CJ Grace put her Adulterer’s Wife book on display

Covid-19 has caused the closure of all public libraries in my area, but I’ve been expanding the good material to read on my bookshelf nonetheless. In the process, I’ve been competing against my ex and developing my skills in obscure languages. Continue reading Coronavirus Libraries and Competing with My Ex

Isabel Allende and Late-in-Life Love in the Time of Coronavirus

Isabel Allende speaking to the City Club of Cleveland in 2017

While under the Covid-19 lockdown in California, 77-year-old author Isabel Allende has been reading Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as well as writing another book and enjoying the company of her new husband, Roger Cukras. For Allende, it’s love in the time of coronavirus. After her long-term marriage ended in 2015, Allende expected to be single till she died. But now she declares she is in love and in lust with the man she married last year, and that if she can do that, anyone can. Continue reading Isabel Allende and Late-in-Life Love in the Time of Coronavirus

Full-Frontal Covid-19 Fashion

CJ attempts to look good in a gas mask

My police surplus gas mask was recommended by Jeff who lives upstairs. He would wear the same model as mine in grocery stores even before lockdown happened. “I don’t care if people give me ugly looks as if I’ve just killed their dog,” he declared. “I don’t want to breathe in their microbes.” Continue reading Full-Frontal Covid-19 Fashion

E-Card Valentine Made Me Grumpy

Valentine’s Day card from c. 1910

At my advanced age, perhaps I should have been grateful that someone found me attractive enough to merit sending a Valentine’s Day greeting. But couple of years ago, my dearly beloved made a big mistake in what he chose to send me to mark the occasion. I may be old-fashioned, but am I the only person who finds animated e-cards intensely unromantic and annoying? Continue reading E-Card Valentine Made Me Grumpy

Diane Sward Rapaport: Empowering Musicians, Hookers and Me

Photo by CJ Grace

Resting in Peace

My book, Adulterer’s Wife: How to Thrive Whether You Stay or Not, was published by Jerome Headlands Press, owned by Diane Rapaport. She gave me a lot of support and editorial advice for the book I’m currently completing, Hotel Chemo. Diane told me, “If I had a friend with breast cancer, not only would I want them to read this book, I’d want all their friends and relatives to read it, because they will tend to be pretty clueless about what happens to someone with cancer.” It was a cruel irony that as I was finishing off Hotel Chemo’s final chapter, “Resting in Peace,” I found out that Diane had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer Continue reading Diane Sward Rapaport: Empowering Musicians, Hookers and Me

Was Melania Telegraph story fair and balanced?

Melania Trump speaking at the International Women of Courage 2018 Awards Ceremony. Will history remember her as a woman of courage?

“One wonders how so many falsehoods could be crammed into a single article.” tweeted Brit Hume of Fox News. Added President Trump, “This is a very big deal in Europe. Fake News is the Enemy of the People!” The offending article was “The Mystery of Melania” that appeared in the January 19, 2019 issue of The Telegraph in Britain. Yet the story for which Mrs. Trump’s lawyers in Britain extracted an apology and substantial damages was excerpted from a book that has been available in the United States since October 2018. Continue reading Was Melania Telegraph story fair and balanced?

Confessions of a Cannibal Mom

Woman Eating by Australian Painter Peter Purves Smith

I’ve tasted human meat, not once but twice. Despite the fact that it was my own flesh, I’m still alive to tell the tale. Shortly after popping out each of my two children, I dined on their placentas, sautéed with onions and garlic in a red wine sauce. I described my culinary experiences in all their gory detail for the Women’s section of telegraph.co.uk. Continue reading Confessions of a Cannibal Mom

The Crown – British History as Game of Thrones

Adolph Hitler greets Nazi sympathizer and playboy, the Duke of Windsor, and his wife, Wallis Simpson, in 1937. Luckily for Britain, as King Edward VIII, he had to abdicate to marry the American divorcee. His duty-bound brother became King George VI, whose daughter Elizabeth inherited the throne.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on November 20, 2017. Elizabeth is not only the longest-reigning and longest-married monarch in British history, but also has been the hardest working. Continue reading The Crown – British History as Game of Thrones

Fifty Shades Films Support Family Values and Kinky Sex

Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele on the set of Fifty Shades of Grey. Photo by Nigel Horsley, Wikimedia Commons.

Explicit sadomasochist sex in a “Red Room of Pain.” A plethora of sex toys and bondage tools. Yet the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy about the love affair between seriously screwed-up Christian and virginal Anastasia is in many ways extremely traditional in the family values it promotes. Absolute fidelity is a given. Polyamory is completely off the table.  Continue reading Fifty Shades Films Support Family Values and Kinky Sex

HBO’s Divorce Show: I’d Prefer Euthanasia

Sarah Jessica Parker at the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, courtesy of  Bjoevrtvedt, Wikimedia Commons

After hearing about my book, Adulterer’s Wife: How to Thrive Whether You Stay or Not, people would ask me what I thought about the HBO series, Divorce. The show’s first season ended earlier this month to great acclaim. Continue reading HBO’s Divorce Show: I’d Prefer Euthanasia

Killing French Infidels for 72 Virgins

Charlie Hebdo Cartoon TranslatedThe horrendous Bastille Day slaughter in Nice on July 14 was just the latest in a series of terrorist atrocities done for the sake of Allah in France. There have been so many that Wikipedia lists them in a table.  Nice was the 13th Islamic attack in France since December 2014 – all for the promise of 72 virgins in paradise. In January 2015, there was a mass shooting at the Paris offices of the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, which had dared to publish cartoons about Muhammad.

Continue reading Killing French Infidels for 72 Virgins

How Adulterers’ Wives Celebrate Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day can be a depressing time for wives with cheating partners. The family may come together, but celebrations can have a bittersweet flavor. It won’t be like it was before infidelity reared its ugly head. You are unlikely to feel secure in the unwavering love and support of the father of your kids. If you and your husband have already split, maybe your kids will take you to a restaurant, but you might wistfully notice all the intact families around you celebrating at the other tables.

Continue reading How Adulterers’ Wives Celebrate Mother’s Day