I’ve written hundreds of articles for national magazines, including The New York Times, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Salon.com, Vogue, Glamour, Self, Marie Claire, Mother Jones, Sunset, Afar, Elle, the Daily Beast, San Francisco Examiner Magazine, O: the Oprah Magazine, and many others. I’ve been a contributing editor at Health, Good Housekeeping, More, San Francisco Magazine and Craftsmanship Quarterly. Several of my articles are listed below. Unfortunately, many have now been deleted from the internet. Lots of others were published without links. I’m working on updating this page!
I recently wrote, “In the US, Not Even $11,000 a Month Can Buy You Dignity at the End of Your Life,” for the Guardian. This combined my father’s experience in assisted living with an investigation into that industry, and the irony that my mother was an activist for nursing homes and assisted living. The article was the Guardian’s #1 read story internationally when it was published.
A couple recent stories I’ve done for Alta magazine include “Gas Takes a Holiday,” about touring the Cascade Loop in Washington in an electric car, and “The Life of a Ghost Town,” about remote mountain towns like the one I spent summers in with my relatives in Colorado. The ghost town story won 3rd place in travel writing for the Los Angeles Press Club.
I published “Our Way of Saying Goodbye,” as a Modern Love column for the New York Times in 2010
Of any essay I’ve ever written, this one, “Why I Stopped Being a Vegetarian,” originally published in Salon.com in 2000, has been reprinted most, mainly in college readers.
My essay, “Food for the Heart,” (Eating Well, January/February 2007) won the Bert Greene Award for Essay Writing from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP.com).
Recently, I’ve been more focused on writing essays for my Substack, The Phrazer, where you can find lots of my work.
Meantime, am I working on another book? Yes, I am.
Here are a few other articles.
Featured Articles:
In the US, not even $11,000 a month can buy you dignity at the end of your life
After watching my father’s struggle in a system that values profit over compassion, I wonder: how much longer will we accept a future where most of us lose our sense of human worth in old age?
My Mother, the Adventurer
Some daughters inherit their mother’s cheekbones. Laura Fraser inherited an audacious I-can-do-that spirit. And then there was her grandmother….
The Healing Power of “Bello” | San Patrignano drug rehabilitation in Italy | Craftsmanship Magazine
An intentional community in Italy uses craftsmanship-and a sense of family-to successfully rehabilitate people suffering from addiction disorder.
A River Runs Through Us
A River Runs Through Us Fly-fishing the waters of West Yellowstone is the stuff of dreams. Casting alongside your 85-year-old dad is the stuff of memories. By Laura Fraser Sunset Magazine, October …
The Antidote to Fast Fashion? System Dressing | Craftsmanship Magazine
Jill Giordano makes women’s clothing with fine fabrics in timeless styles, with an eye towards fashion, ease, and sustainability.
The Shinola Polish | Craftsmanship Magazine
An in-depth feature about the vintage shoe polish brand turned luxury goods maker in Detroit. Is reviving U.S. manufacturing that easy?
Can Pátzcuaro and Surrounding Colonial Crafts Towns Survive Modern Mexico? | Craftsmanship Magazine
From pineapple-shaped pots to coppersmithing, Pátzcuaro in southwestern Mexico has long served as a community hub for artisanal crafts. How will it survive today’s challenges?
Why I stopped being a vegetarian
It’s anti-social, not necessarily healthful — and besides, meat tastes good!
http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/joy-her-bones
My sister’s cancer might have been diagnosed sooner – if doctors could have seen beyond her weight
As doctors focused on my sister’s weight, they overlooked the endometrial cancer that was causing her daily pain and that soon killed her.
More Articles:
The Shock of the Nuevo, Sunset, May 2015
Words With Exes, Human Parts, August, 2015
William Zinsser, The Man Who Taught a Nation to Write Well, Al Jazeera, May 14, 2015
If Rugs Could Talk, Re:Form, October, 2014
The Risotto Guru, Shebooks, December, 2013
Antibacterial Soap: Safe Suds or Snake Oil?, OnEarth, December, 2012
The Long Goodbye, Whole Living, October, 2012
The Repentent Executioner, San Francisco Magazine, July, 2012 (deleted from internet, stand by)
“The Rice Man Cometh”, Real Eats, August 18, 2011
“Is Your Shampoo Making You Fat?”, OnEarth, June 27, 2011
“Moving Day”, Responsibility Project, June 17, 2011
“It’s the Height of Contradictions: Despite inhospitable terrain, the Atacama Desert lures visitors with its stark beauty.”, Los Angeles Times travel section, May 22, 2011
“Top Java”, Responsibility Project, May 10, 2011
“Kicking the Chemical Habit”, OnEarth, April 26, 2011
Resident, “What’s Most Alive in Palermo is the Food”, Afar, January/February 2011
Soccer, Soaps and Social Change, The Responsibility Project, December 7, 2011
Dance of the Spider Women, Afar, July/August 2010
Modern Love: Our Way of Saying Goodbye, The New York Times, May 30, 2010
When Home Competes for an Ardent Traveler’s Affections—and Wins, 7×7 Magazine, May 2010
The Joy of Mindful Cooking, Tricycle Buddhist Review, Fall 2009
The Anti-Aging Effects of Meditation, More, May 2009
Will Americans Flee Mexico?, The Daily Beast, May 2, 2009
Women Who Eat Meat, The Daily Beast, April 2, 2009
In Defense of My Drinking Habit, The Daily Beast, March 22, 2009
Om is Where the Heart is, More, September 2008
A Mid-Summer Day’s Skiing, More, July/August 2008
The Ten Hottest Italian Restaurants in San Francisco, Gourmet.com, May 29, 2008
Fitness Book Camp, More, May 2008
My So-Called Genius, More, April 2008
A Tree Grows in the Haight Ashbury, San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, March 23, 2008
Just Desserts, More, December 2007/January 2008