hellobeautifulcreatures

Elaine Margolin Contributor In addition to writing book reviews for Truthdig, Elaine is a book critic for The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle , Jerusalem Post, Denver Post, and several literary journals. She has been reviewing… “Sour Heart: Stories” A book by Jenny Zhang It’s easy to see why Lena Dunham chose to publish Jenny Zhang ’s compelling and wildly original debut book of loosely connected short stories at her new Lenny Books imprint at Random House. At first glance, Dunham and Zhang seem to be from different worlds, but there is much that binds them. Dunham grew up a rich kid, the daughter of artists, and attended private school in Manhattan. Zhang grew up the resilient daughter of impoverished and traumatized Chinese -American immigrants who came to America with high hopes that were quickly demolished. Yet the women seem similar in temperament: They are irreverent, defiant and drawn to the hipsters and outlaws who linger at the fringes of our society. Both see...

I t happens, apparently. It recently happened at Elevation Church, the Charlotte- area super cool megachurch . According to the Charlotte Observer, Amanda Zilliken was nursing her 4-month-old daughter on the back row of Elevation’s stadium-style seating when an usher illumined her with a flashlight, directed her out of the sanctuary and into this lovely place: The volunteer told her that she was welcome back to her seat, “as soon as she was finished.” Hurt, angry, and humiliated by the experience, Zilliken approached other staff and volunteers after the service, but they were less than supportive. Elevation did release a statement on the incident, stating that they have no official policy against breastfeeding women . They added: “We have several designated areas for nursing moms at Ballantyne specifically – one private to allow pumping and it’s close to the auditorium for convenience and the other in the actual baby area with a TV to allow mothers to still be part of the worship exp...