When I was a dating coach, I read a lot of “Perfect Guy” lists. — It’s popular advice in dating coaching: make a list to describe your ideal partner. I’m not a big fan of it. I like that it clarifies what you’re looking for, but some women get too attached to their descriptions. …

What I wish someone had told my mother. — It’s a strange age, 35. I’ve been to a hundred weddings and met a hundred babies. I thought we were past the break-up conversations. But just when you think you know what’s coming, life surprises you. The break-up conversations came back, and this time, they’re more serious than ever. We’re…

If you’re on the fence about a good guy, give him a chance. — Boy, oh boy, we’ll do anything to avoid responsibility. We’ll even assign personalities to things, like our hearts and brains. My brain says he’s great, but I just don’t feel it. I know he’s an idiot, but the heart wants what it wants. It isn’t real, and you know it. …

We learn strength from men. — I used to think I was a strong woman. Ha! Funny me. Life slowly showed me that my way of being strong was incompatible with having a happy family. It was incompatible with happiness, period. Then came the inevitable question: should I be strong or happy? I think many women…

The success story of a woman who felt the same way. — Once upon a time, a very normal girl was born in a very normal Jewish family in Israel.

A happy ending isn’t an option. — I know this isn’t what you want to hear. I know you want your fairytale ending, your movie romance. And you deserve it too! Look at you! Look at how gorgeous, intelligent, funny and good-hearted you are. But if you’re going after a cool guy (the confident, mysterious, gloriously unavailable…

Success in anything is a long game. — When I had my first baby, I was stunned at how much first-time moms obsess over breastfeeding. How long you should do it. How you should do it. What the WHO (World Health Organization) says about it. …

Focus on what you can control. — As I watched Ukrainians queue on gas stations and sit in traffic, trying to escape the country on the first day of the Russian attacks, I thought, "Why now?" Why not earlier? Everyone said this would happen. The US and a few other countries brought their Ukraine-based diplomats home. A…

I never admitted I was lonely. — I knew I wanted to break up with him, but when he announced he had to go to his mother’s for a few days, I broke down crying. The thought of having dinners alone a few evenings in a row was more than I could bear. It sounds ridiculous thinking…