Elissa Stein

Yesterday, all across New York, students from 3rd through 8th grade sat for the first day of the state mandated ELA (English Language Arts) test. While I don't know how important these tests are in other parts of the state, in New York City their significance has taken on epic,...

Last week tens of thousands of New York City public school students received high school offer letters. For almost half of them, dreams came true. But too many others were disappointed, not to mention devastated by the results. Yes, that statement sounds extreme. But as the parent of one of...

In this week's British Medical Journal, an opinion piece called for a reversal on the ban of selling human organs for money. As there is such a discrepancy between those in need of organs and those willing to donate, the author suggested standard monetary incentives for potential donors could potentially...

My brother called yesterday -- he was in the middle of a bad dialysis session. There were issues with his chest catheter, things like too much bleeding after days of discomfort, the usual five minute hookup took 45 instead. He knew it was going to be a long night.

A...

I went to my brother's for Christmas Eve, a family tradition that goes back for years and years. It was the first time we'd seen each other since we got the good-to-go donation news, and we celebrated in our usual, laid-back style: a high five. We're not demonstrative or overtly...

This week, Mayor Bloomberg abruptly announced that NYC School Chancellor Joel Klein was being replaced with Cathie Black, the former CEO of Hearst publications. Amazingly, to many, neither Mr. Klein nor Ms. Black came to the job with any educational experience.

While I too am no expert in education and...

During a recent interview with a woman's health writer (having co-written "FLOW," I'm always good for a sound bite or two) the reporter asked if I'd seen the instructional tampon videos popping up on YouTube. Not the ones recently developed by manufacturers, not retro films we'd seen in...

No, the bra emporium isn't launching a line for the under 10 set, but that reality might not be too far off. According to an article in the New York Times the onset of puberty is apparent in even younger girls than ever before--noticeable breast development in...

Last night, heading down Seventh Avenue in a cab, there was a slew of news vans lining the street, hundreds of people gathered outside the entrance of Madison Square Garden, all staring up at tremendous TV screens. My first thought -- there had been some sort of tragedy. And then...

The fate of publishing is a hot topic of conversation. Are books dead? Will the iPad revitalize the industry? Will ebooks make bookstores obsolete? There have been pricing battles at Amazon, content wars at Google, countless articles discussing what will, might, could happen to traditional and e-book publishers regarding bottom...

"I can't wait to taste your muffin."

Last night, Betty White chattered away with Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon, the faux NPR hosts of Saturday Night Live's The Delicious Dish about muffins. Eating muffins. Warm, moist muffins. Velvety, yummy muffins. Sometimes finding them salty. Others that are yeasty. Muffins that...

It's almost impossible to comprehend that less than 100 years ago sending information about birth control through the mail was considered not only illicit and obscene, but was illegal as per the Comstock Act of 1873. It wasn't until the 1930s that doctors were allowed to distribute information and contraceptives...

I wanted to write a Mother's Day piece about the joys and pitfalls of motherhood, but I'm too tired, having just spent the past 3 hours monitoring a Nerf dart tag battle that moved from my living room, through the hallway outside our apartment, to the basement playroom and back...

My local coffee shop has been promoting a new product called Fat Pig. The concept and packaging almost feel like a design student's portfolio project, edgier than you'd expect to actually see produced in real life. Each thick square brick is wrapped in hot pink foil, on top of that,...

Vaginas are having a moment.

They were highlighted in a recent NYT article, when three major TV networks declined to air Kotex ads using the V word. Replacing it with "down there" was deemed inappropriate by two out of the three. Vajazzling is currently the rage among...

Yesterday, while walking down Christopher Street, I got a call. A kidney was available for my brother who had recently been placed on the transplant list. A friend of a friend of a cousin of ours had an aneurysm and her family generously offered her kidney to someone in need....

A couple of weeks ago, as I walked past my favorite coffee shop, I noticed a woman sitting on the bench outside, holding an ice pack to her leg, muttering to herself. Bleeding. Nodding her head and rocking back and forth slowly. The blood had soaked through the cloth she...

This week The New York Times ran a disturbing article about hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and menopause, talking about how, for decades, women were pitched a message of decreased symptoms, disease protection, and a perennial youthful glow. The salesmen? Pharmaceutical companies and the medical profession. Their tools? Exceedingly effective...

Months and months ago, anticipating the publication of my new book, I asked a friend in PR what I should be doing to get the word out. His advice? Twitter. Establishing a presence on Twitter would help tremendously in forming an advance fan base and a means to share information...

Last week, my daughter's middle school hosted a pot luck for new parents--assembling a panel of NYC teachers, assistant principals and guidance counselors who gave presentations on everything from extreme behavorial issues to what to expect during the high school vetting process. As most in the room were parents of...