All posts by CJ

About CJ

CJ is a Brit living in America who wholeheartedly embraces the worst of both cultures, including British sarcasm and Californian New Age mumbo-jumbo. She is the author of the forthcoming book, Adulterer’s Wife: How to Thrive Whether You Stay or Not.

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

Angelina Jolie’s BRCA Mastectomy Debate: My Biased View

Photo by Alex Villarreal, Voice of America

Deciding whether or not to have a mastectomy (where all breast tissue is removed), either as a prophylactic or instead of a lumpectomy (where only the breast tumor and the area around it is taken out), is a very personal choice with many variables. BRCA1 gene mutation carrier, Caitlin Brodnick, in her terrifically-titled book, Dangerous Boobies: Breaking Up with My Time-Bomb Breasts (Berkeley, CA: Seal Press, 2017), makes a strong case for prophylactic mastectomies, describing a childhood filled with relatives dying from cancer. I have the slightly less risky BRCA2 rather than BRCA1 gene defect and I admit being biased against mastectomies. Continue reading Angelina Jolie’s BRCA Mastectomy Debate: My Biased View

Anna Rowe Defends Her Anti-Catfishing Petition

I came across CJ Grace’s blog, Anna Rowe’s Anti-Catfishing Petition Misguided, and disagreed with some of her assumptions, so I contacted her to explain my point of view. We began a dialogue together and CJ, the author of Adulterer’s Wife: How to Thrive Whether You Stay or Not, invited me to post this guest blog on her website adultererswife.com.

I live in Britain, which has taken a strong stance against grooming children—building an emotional connection with a child to gain his or her trust for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Legislation is in place to protect children up to the age of 15 years and 364 days old, but as soon as you turn 16, there is nothing to protect you against these same abusers. Continue reading Anna Rowe Defends Her Anti-Catfishing Petition

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

Harvey Weinstein and the 1980s Wandering Hands Era

A Washington Post report by Monica Hesse and Dan Zak alleges systemic sexual assault by movie executive Harvey Weinstein dating back to the 1980s. It reminded me of attitudes towards women that were prevalent when I was working in the media at that time. Certain men I worked with in the BBC in Britain in the early 1980s were known for having what we girls described as “wandering hands syndrome.” Continue reading Harvey Weinstein and the 1980s Wandering Hands Era

Living in Monty Python’s Dead Parrot Sketch

John Cleese and Michael Palin performing the Dead Parrot Sketch during the 2014 Monty Python Live (Mostly) show in London. Photo by Eduardo Unda-Sanzana, Wikimedia.

I was busy at my computer working on “Resting in Peace”­—the last chapter of the next book I’m writing, My Wild Ride: How to Thrive After Breast Cancer and Infidelity. Getting breast cancer for the second time had been a sharp reminder that I wasn’t a permanent resident on planet Earth. Continue reading Living in Monty Python’s Dead Parrot Sketch

Valentine’s Day: Horrible Holiday for Cheaters’ Wives

Skedonk, WIkimedia Commons

You can’t get away from all the paraphernalia about love and romance on Valentine’s Day. If you know your partner is cheating, this holiday will bring up all kinds of negative feelings whether or not he does anything to celebrate the day with you. In some ways the slimebag is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. Continue reading Valentine’s Day: Horrible Holiday for Cheaters’ Wives

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

Choose a Spouse Like You’d Choose a Tenant

Lawyers enjoy divorce asset-stripping
Asset Stripping

Most people would screen prospective tenants or employees more rigorously than a potential spouse. A landlord will want to ensure that a tenant has good credit and is going to pay the rent. Business owners will look at a person’s employment history to decide whether or hire him or her. But doing a background check on a potential mate? Isn’t that rather tacky and unromantic?

Continue reading Choose a Spouse Like You’d Choose a Tenant