Claudia Mosby

The holidays can be a lonely time for many. Christmas with its social emphasis on family, friends and gift-giving can leave those without such ties feeling isolated and depressed.

The desire to know more about my extended family and the generations that preceded us has intensified with each passing year. With one parent gone and the other facing continued health challenges, mortality is a practical concern. With no children ...

When I was younger I often felt grateful when I received something tangible that I had sought or when a specific situation worked out as I had hoped. I was less interested in being grateful for the insight or personal ...

Talking with some girlfriends about their recent dating experiences reminded me of the challenges I, too, had encountered as a midlife dater. Before getting married, I had been active with different community organizations, belonged to a church, traveled extensively for ...

When I was 40, my eye doctor asked if I was having difficulty reading small print.

Not long ago while working a kink out of my left arm, my physical therapist announced she'd recently noticed her knees had wrinkles. My eyebrows shot up. "Then,"she added, "earlier today when I went next door to get a coffee, ...

In my last column I wrote about how hormonal change affects women at midlife and one of my friends quipped, "Let's hear and read about hormonal change in men!"

If you're a male reader of this column and "women's talk" annoys you, turn away now. However, if you do, you'll miss the newsflash that we women are as unsettled and unprepared for the Change as you are. It's as ...

This week while sorting through some books for a workshop I'm teaching on writing memoirs, I came across a book I'd bought a few years earlier called "Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life." The title had intrigued me ...

"For a grandchild?" I heard the question clearly but it took a moment to register that it was directed at me. I was standing at a Dr. Seuss display in Barnes & Noble looking for a gift when my questioner, ...

While I was sorting a week's worth of laundry and accumulated mail and fixing dinner, I listened to Diane Sawyer from the living room TV pose the question, "Who's the most stressed out person in America?" Without hesitation, I answered ...

When I was young my best friend was a blond-haired, blue-eyed English girl named Diane who lived down the block from me. She moved away while we were still in grade school and although we stayed in touch for a ...

I admit I'm a social media fan. As a writer I appreciate the capability of the Internet to put my words in front of a wider audience with only the click of a mouse. Beyond my professional interests, though, I've ...

Not long ago I had dinner with a new girlfriend who called me with a spontaneous invitation for a girl's night out. Although we'd first met 14 years ago after I moved to Redding, we hadn't stayed in contact and ...

Last week during our weekly phone chat, my best girlfriend and I were talking about friendship. I commented that it was hard to find time to do "girlfriend stuff" and she added that it used to be so much easier ...