Articles - Page 5 of 8 - Dr. Tamara MC

Born to Stand Out: Daniella Mestyanek Young Interviewed by Tamara MC

As soon as I heard about Daniella Mestyanek Young’s book Uncultured (St. Martin’s Press), I knew I had to interview her. Both of us are “cult babies,” children born or raised in cults. Young was born a third-generation member of the Children of God, the infamous sex cult alleged to have encouraged sex with children as a way to get closer to God. I grew up in a Sufi cult in the eighties in Texas, and although our cult was not a sex cult, our girls were sexually assaulted. I was married at age twelve in an Islamic temporary marriage called a mut’ah, and most of the girls I grew up with were married off at age fourteen to men much older than them and usually in plural marriages. So, although we grew up in different places with different religions, our experiences mirror each other in many significant ways.

My Lithuanian Holocaust Survivor Grandmother—

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! BEFORE: Hot water burbled in samovars. You strolled cobblestone streets, clicking your heels. DURING: You sipped grass soup. Dug the ditch for your murdered mother. AFTER: You slaved stitching stockings in sweatshops. My alcoholic grandfather cracked open your skull with a cast-iron skillet. You danced at Roseland Ballroom, smelling of bleach […]

I’ve Worn This $8 Bra for 27 Years

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! When I gave birth to my first son 27 years ago, the hospital’s lactation consultant recommended Fruit of the Loom’s Beyondsoft Front Closure Cotton Bra. I was 22, and my husband and I were struggling financially, so I was happy to learn I could pick up the […]

This is 50: Dr. Tamara MC Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! How old are you? In July, on lucky 7/7, I turned 50. Is there another age you associate with yourself in your mind? If so, what is it? And why, do you think? Maybe I still think I’m 38. I remember feeling so old when I was 38 because […]

INTERVIEW: Adiba Nelson, Author of Ain’t That a Mother

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Adiba Nelson is the author of Ain’t that a Mother (Blackstone, May 2022) a hilarious and heartbreaking memoir about motherhood, palsy, and all the deets in-between. Adiba’s voice is unabashed, unflinchingly honest, and disrupts any stereotypes you may have about motherhood. Adiba is from my hometown Tucson, […]

“Just Show Up”: Adiba Nelson Talks About AIN’T THAT A MOTHER with Tamara MC

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Adiba Nelson’s hilarious, heartbreaking, and bold debut memoir Ain’t that a Mother: Postpartum, Palsy, and Everything in Between (Blackstone, 2022) explores the cavernous lows of postpartum depression, the joys and challenges of raising a daughter with high medical needs, the naughtiness of burlesque dancing, and all the messiness in […]

‘Uncultured’: The Intergenerational Trauma of Girls Growing up in Cults

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Daniella Mestyanek Young’s powerfully immersive and exceptionally honest debut memoir Uncultured opens with a scene of Young standing in line to get spanked by Uncle Zephaniah. This man is not her blood uncle, but what the kids in the Children of God cult call the men in […]

Embracing Challenges: A Review of Ain’t That a Mother: Postpartum, Palsy, and Everything in Between

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Purchase Adiba Nelson’s debut memoir, Ain’t That a Mother: Postpartum, Palsy, and Everything in Between, for the book jacket alone and clutch it under your arm like you would your prized handbag, using it as your statement accessory. The cover is gorgeous and girly—cotton-candy pink with a gold-horned unicorn piñata. People […]

What Adiba Nelson taught me about self-love

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! I learned so much from Adiba’s memoir, but mostly I learned the power of staying true to myself. Adiba Nelson, an Afro-Latina mama to 13-year-old Emory, is a retired burlesque performer, TEDx speaker, and disability rights advocate. Her debut memoir “Ain’t That a Mother: Postpartum, Palsy, and […]

If…

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! PROMPT — If only … If he hadn’t stolen my hard drive and then blackmailed me,we would still be together.If he hadn’t lied about it,minimizing it,we would still be together.If we hadn’t argued at “Prep and Pastry” about Homecoming,I would have been with him in Mississippi […]