Cathren is a community collaborative artist who has been working with the Community Libraries of Providence and other non-profits since 2012, developing arts and literacy programs and creating public art installations. She has been an artist in residence at Hattie Ide Chaffee Home since 2023, implementing visual arts and health programs with seniors and dementia patients. Website: ArtHouseRI.com
On November 13 last year, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association made headlines with a startling announcement: Nearly half (46%) of all Americans now qualify for the hypertension high risk pool. Did the health of our nation suddenly plummet? No. The change was due to new guidelines, which dropped the accepted […]
Dear C; My girlfriend Stacy is getting married in about three weeks. I’ve known her since we were in high school and I was thrilled for her when she got engaged. She has a good handle on her career, but she has always wanted kids and was afraid it would never happen – she’s in […]
With the sheer number of other horrifying diseases plaguing mankind, most of us have come to think of the flu as just another inconvenience – a few days off from work, a box or two of Kleenex, and some over-the-counter remedies from the drugstore. We’ve forgotten the flu pandemic of 1918-1919 that killed somewhere between […]
Being swept into the throes of first love is like hurling through the rapids — you are both thrilled and terrified at the same time. It’s no wonder that in modern song, love is often compared to the rush of a drug. Funny thing is, love really does act like a drug in your body. […]
Dear C; I’m an attractive, intelligent woman with a wide variety of interests. I support myself as a freelance writer and I’ve read and researched extensively about every subject I’ve been assigned so I never run out of things to talk about. You’d think that all of this would insure that I wouldn’t have any […]
Dear C, I’m wondering if I did the right thing. Last night, my 14-year-old daughter had a sleepover with her best friend, Kimmy, another 14-year-old girl. When I went up to check on them and to say good night, Kimmy was not in the trundle bed I’d made up for her. They were both in […]
For some of us, the rising deaths from drug overdose are just numbers on a page. But for many others, it is too real: a close friend or family member is found unresponsive and suddenly the emergency crew and the flashing lights are reflecting on our own walls. There are fewer and fewer among us who have not […]
When Hurricane Maria flattened Puerto Rico in September, the damage and loss was catastrophic. But unless we had family ties to the island, the disaster seemed distant, barely touching our lives in the mainland … but we were wrong. The ripple effect from Maria has surged far past the island itself and into the hospitals […]
Dear C, I really want to make some changes this year. What’s the best way to make a New Year’s resolution that sticks? My resolve always seems to wear off after the first week. Ida Intent Dear Ida, New Year’s resolutions seldom stick. The most popular use of a resolution is as an excuse to […]
Dear C; The holidays aren’t even over, and already I feel so bloated and disgusting that I can’t stand to look at myself. I keep wearing the same stretch pants with various tunic tops and scarves over them. Nothing else fits. But I feel so left out and sad if I go to a party […]