Jessica Allen

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  • Home
  • New!
  • Food
  • Culture
  • Travel
  • New York City
  • Essays, Etc.
  • Contact
 
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​I wrote a book about books! A companion to the PBS series of the same name, The Great American Read: The Book of Books features tidbits, trivia, and tantalizing facts about 100 great novels.

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​Being pregnant forces me to confront a lifetime of superstitious, slightly crazy behavior
. The behavior mostly wins. 

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Thank you for your interest in stealing my identity.  

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     Is your baby an asshole?
 Take this quiz to find out. 

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I can't afford a second kid. 

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I wrote an essay about how reading Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower alongside and against The Diary of Anne Frank benefits both [in print only].

 

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​I went to Mongolia to see horses . . . then I ate one.

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I understand the litigious impulse. When my son was born, I thought seriously about suing him for ruining my vagina. Everyone says the lady bits eventually go back to normal, but how is that possible? Some things, like Laffy Taffy or a LIVESTRONG bracelet, can’t be unstretched. ​
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   ​Of all the words I've written, "writer" has given me the most trouble [PDF].



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The real reason my husband and I waited so long to have a kid? We had baby naming writer's block.

 

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​At a young age, I realized two key facts about myself: I like books, and I have a lousy memory.

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​Nine things said over a hospital bed

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On becoming BFFs with my fetus

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​"You've got some mealworms there" and other absurd things I never expected to say to my newborn.

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Milking it, an essay on the peculiar virtues of extended breastfeeding

 

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​ One time we found a goat's head in Upper Manhattan.

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​The people who make high-end baby clothes are sadists, babies are a lot like scratch tickets, and other truths I've learned about life from my baby.

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How telling stories on the street helped cure a bout of writer's block [PDF]

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​There’s the age you are and the age you feel, and there’s nothing like a 20-mile hike on a Nicaraguan volcano to remind you of the difference.

 

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​The five worst things about trying to get pregnant

 
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10 reasons why it's great pregnancy lasts 10 months

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As a featured contributor on Disney's parenting site, I've written about:

Getting to know my baby, one kick at a time

The five types of toddler eaters (I've got a hoarder)

Dressing a toddler in the age of Instagram (#ragamuffin)

Baby's first "food"
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My son's unwillingness to call me Mommy, or Mama, or Mom, or a matronymic of any kind

Signs you're a working mom (#3: on conference calls, you claim the noise from your breast pump is “just really bad traffic.”)

Superpowers my toddler thinks I have, or what Wolverine and I have in common 

What happens when we post about messy moments on social media 

Beauty tips I learned from my toddler. Yes, really. 

Why I'm glad I had my kid late in life 

Discovering that I'm not really fluent in English, despite being a native speaker 

A breastfeeding triathlete 

The time I gave my son a terrible haircut and let him take the blame

15 ways I'm turning Baby into a feminist

Why Patti Smith is my parenting role model 

Whether a unique baby name might be right for you

10 ways to be the most annoying parent on Facebook

What I've learned from never (ever) using a stroller [PDF]



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