Bob spent his days gnawing at his cage, and his nights spinning on his wheel. It was clear he was planning his escape. We did everything to delay the inevitable. We weighted the door of the cage down with a wooden coaster. He knocked it off with sheer force. We tied the door down with an old t-shirt. He ravished it to shreds. We inserted wooden kebab skewers through intermittent slats. He scratched them loose. He broke out twice before. The first time he sprang from our arms

A very short story. Once there was a very eager writer. She got up very early in the morning to write. It was so early that even the sun was still sleeping. It was so early that the dew wasn't ripe enough to fall. It was so early that the blackbird opened its eyes with annoyance and said with an angry chirrup, "go back to bed, I am not yet ready to wake the world with my song." Once there was a very eager writer. During the morning – in between errands, chores and the kind of

We, the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, grew up with stories that children should never hear. We grew up with stories of murder, rape, brutalisation, death marches and mass graves. We grew up with stories of days on end without shelter, or nourishment, a winter without shoes or a jacket. We learnt of the shunning of neighbours, co-workers, friends, the loss of jobs, and the loss of dignity. We, with our young ears and innocent eyes, heard of the loss of uncles, aunts, c

When I was in elementary school I wrote a story about a ladybird who was unable to fly. The story was inspired by 'real-life events'. My sister and I, in our many outdoor pursuits, rescued a butterfly with broken wings. We placed her gently in a shoe box. We lined the box with leaves. We set her up on the highest spot in the box, and while my sister shouted words of encouragement, I demonstrated how to fly: running up and down the garden, my arms flapping wildly. My story wo

A question that I get asked occasionally, usually with a wide-eyed look of expectation is – what is it like to write a book? This question is not directed at the end result – the publishing, or the release of said book. Neither is the question directed at the creative process, or the so called muse – if there is such a thing. Rather, what people are curious about, is the modus operandi – the HOW. I have been trying for some time now to come up with some sort of coherent res

You don't need to be immersed very deeply in social media culture to feel the enormous magnitude and impact of the #MeToo campaign. Millions of women, and indeed many men as well, have begun a global dialogue on issues that are intense, hard to share, and, in some cases, life-changing. It is my personal belief, that this dialogue is only the beginning, and that we will see many movements, activities and impactful events that will emerge in the years to come. It has been both

It is the storyteller's prerogative to begin a story from any time and any place. This may sound counter-intuitive, but I rarely begin a story from the start. Or else, if I do, my start will morph and evolve many times before it becomes the formal point of beginning. We like to believe that we are in control: of our lives, of our journeys, of our work, of the people around us. But, in truth - while we are imagining ourselves to be forging ahead - we are actually a mere talki