Jody Allard

Jody Allard

Bio

Jody Allard is a former techie turned freelance writer living in Seattle. Her online work has appeared on Time, xoJane, and Offbeat Home, among others. She writes primarily about food, family, mothering, and life with a chronic illness. 

Jody Allard Articles

Holidays without your mother are hard.

Surviving The Holidays When You’re Estranged From Your Mother

It’s been three years since I divorced my mother. The reasons are long and complicated, yet also short and simple. My mother is not capable of mothering anyone, and I am healthier and happier without her.

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LEGO Finally Responds To Parents' Pain From Stepping On LEGOs

If you have kids, you have probably experienced the unique pain of stepping on a LEGO. After years of listening to parents' tales of woe, LEGO has finally devised a solution: adult-sized LEGO slippers to protect your precious feet.

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I've Never Felt Nurtured, And Other Things I've Learned Parenting After Complex Trauma

Before I went to therapy, I married a lot of men, had a lot of children, and worked myself to the bone to achieve career success. If I wasn't happy, it was easy to blame that on my alcoholic, cheating husband or raising a tribe of kids or even working too damn much.

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This Week's Edition Of Why We Still Need Feminism

In case you need still more proof that feminism is desperately and unequivocally needed, here are three completely horrible stories from this week alone.

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I'm Not The Crazy Ex: What We Need To Learn From The McLeod Rape Case

The thing about trauma is that it creates inherently unreliable witnesses. Victims tell as much as they can bear to tell, in that moment, and perhaps even as much as they can remember. Memories can be hazy and dim until the second that the curtain is lifted and the body is thrust back into the moment of abuse. There is no such thing as one way of processing trauma, and there is no perfectly linear path to recovery, either.

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President Obama Reminds Us How To Treat Refugees With Touching HONY Comment

If you follow Humans of New York on Facebook like I do, you probably ugly cry at least once a day. Right now, they are interviewing Syrian refugees who have successfully completed the multi-year process to become approved to enter the United States, and their stories are particularly heart-breaking.

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Frozen Embryos Don't Have Rights, Women Do 

"It's simple, really. If you can muddy the waters enough, and espouse concern for the rights of those poor defenseless embryos enough, what should be a simple statement about the rights of women to make choices for their own bodies becomes, instead, a convoluted argument around viability and fetal stages that puts the presumed "rights" of fetuses on an equal footing with the actual rights of adult women."

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Time Remembers Women Exist, Names First Woman "Person of the Year" in 29 Years

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has become the first woman to be named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" in nearly 30 years. The magazine cited her unique values –– including humanity, generosity, and tolerance –– to explain why her leadership merited the award.

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chronic illness does not automatically equal depression.

5 Things I Wish My Doctor Knew About Having An Invisible Illness

Although my underlying disease has no treatment, many of the symptoms of my disease can be treated, and even a small reduction in my symptoms can be life-changing for me. Yet, unless I really push my doctors for a treatment plan, they rarely offer any suggestions. I understand that there is no pill to cure me, and I don't feel bad when my doctor doesn't have one to offer.

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Viral Photo Declares "Peace On Earth" With Bound And Gagged Women

Nothing says "Peace On Earth" like women bound and gagged, am I right? Believe it or not, that's exactly the premise behind a family's Christmas card gone horribly awry.

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