PinnedBeth Andrix MonaghaninPretends Everything is FineOn Not Being Joan DidionDidion lives deep, lets herself off the hook, and never assumes she knows everything. I hoped reading her words would work like osmosis…3 min read·Apr 21, 2021----
PinnedBeth Andrix MonaghaninPretends Everything is FinePlaying the Gift Shop GameTo manage angry customers, I played a game with myself. No matter what they said, I wouldn’t raise my voice or appear upset.6 min read·Mar 8, 2021--3--3
Beth Andrix MonaghaninPretends Everything is FineThis Practiced MomentWhen my parents drove me to an orchestra camp in Stowe, Vermont one early high school summer, we ate at Pizza Hut. We were arguing over…7 min read·Aug 20, 2023--1--1
Beth Andrix MonaghaninPretends Everything is FineA Blacklight for Terrible Truths“Mommy, what kind of shoes do kidnappers wear?” My thirteen-year-old daughter, Izzy, just got home from school, and she’s telling me a new…6 min read·Feb 17, 2023----
Beth Andrix MonaghanLiterary First Drafts: Me vs. ChatGPTWho’s better at generating an essay first draft? ChatGPT or me? I considered this on my drive to work as I was dictating notes into my…11 min read·Jan 27, 2023----
Beth Andrix MonaghanThe Joy ProjectIn January 2020, I made a pact with my friend, Starla. We’d hold ourselves accountable to joy for one year. We named it The Joy Project and…4 min read·Nov 22, 2021----
Beth Andrix MonaghaninPretends Everything is FineRenewal After DevastationEd met me at the office to save the plants. It was a Tuesday in March after we’d gone into quarantine. A few weeks earlier, he and I had…5 min read·Sep 14, 2021----
Beth Andrix MonaghanTarget Practice“You can either live in our house or own a gun.” Our infant daughter was sleeping in her crib down the hall. My husband and I had taken up…2 min read·Jun 21, 2021----
Beth Andrix MonaghaninPretends Everything is FineThe StrangersPrior to Covid-19, I mostly thought about strangers as warnings to my children. Around the time I first began teaching my daughter Izzy to…4 min read·Apr 9, 2021----