O, The Oprah Magazine articles from January 2004

O, The Oprah Magazine archives from January 2004

We hear you! Readers are enlightened by our report on domestic homicide, applaud parental clipping services, sound off against waistline preoccupation, and more ....(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... As a survivor of domestic violence, I thought "The Shock of Domestic Homicide: 'He Seemed Like Such a Puppy Dog'" [by Amanda Robb, November] was superb. When I was a freshman in nursing school, I became involved with a controlling and abusive...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
January 1, 2004... Corrections: The photograph on page 75 of November's Live Your Best Life section was taken by Jean Pierre Hallet. In Love That! Fashion, the phone number for C.J. Laing was misprinted. The correct number is 212-288-7115.

It's not over till it's over.(Here We Go)
January 1, 2004... EARLY IN MY CAREER, I GOT A MEMorable lesson in transformation--and it came wrapped in a package marked "sudden and humbling failure." I was 23 at the time, and I'd taken a job in Baltimore as coanchor of the evening news. I was so naive that I...

Calendar.(Calendar)
January 1, 2004... January "If anybody wants to keep creating, they have to be about change."-- Miles Davis What do you plan to do for yourself this year? What inner strengths might you unleash? Write a power resolution and post it as a reminder. ...

Dr. Phil: "you may lose a friend, but you will have your self-respect"; Phillip C. McGraw, PhD, on a father's death wish ... a husband with road rage ... and an ungrateful friend.(Tell it Like it is)
January 1, 2004... Q I have an amazing father who was given an 80 percent chance of surviving lung cancer a few years ago. With some pretty intense chemotherapy and radiation, he won his battle--but he continues to smoke! I know that he'll listen to you; he...

Suze Orman: "you have what it takes to make your way in the world of money"; Merging lives but not money ... planning for uncertainty ... a divorced woman's health insurance concerns.(Financial Freedom)
January 1, 2004... Q My partner of six years and I recently held a ceremony in front of family and friends to celebrate our love and commitment. We're wondering how to combine our financial lives in a way that makes sense for us as a same-sex couple. How much...

Live your best life.(Poem)
January 1, 2004... i am running into a new year and the old years blow back like a wind that i catch in my hair like strong fingers like all my old promises and it will be hard to let go of what i said to myself about myself when i was sixteen and...

Harry Connick Jr.'s Aha! moment: the musician found that for his 2-year-old daughter discovery is what happens when you're busy making other plans.(Turning Point)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, WHEN MY oldest daughter was 2, I wanted to take her to the park. I was anxious to get her there as fast as I could because I only had a couple of hours to spare before I had to be somewhere. As I was hustling her to the...

What's news?(TV: Guest Critic)(Mo Rocca, Mary Hart)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... As a Daily Show correspondent, Mo Rocca has been known to offer up a "Mo-pinion" or two. As host of Court TV's Smoking Gun TV, he is fast becoming the Walter Cronkite of hard-news-gone-soft. Here, Rocca untangles the unholy collision between...

Good to the last word.(services of Story House Coffee)
January 1, 2004... Sipping and reading have always been a great combination, but now both pleasures are available from one can of coffee. Story House Coffee prints essays, poems, mysteries, and other delicious reads on the labels of its mail-order coffees--you...

Bad hare days.(The Book of Bunny Suicides, by Andy Riley)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... At last, the definitive compendium on bunny depression and its aftermath. The Book of Bunny Suicides, by Andy Riley (Plume), offers creative solutions to fluffy little rabbits who've just had enough. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Anticipation list: what we're looking forward to this month.(television programs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Bland boy meets girl. Bland boy marries girl. Bland boy falls for wild woman. Thanks to Ben Stiller, Debra Messing, and a staggeringly uninhibited Jennifer Aniston, Along Came Polly, the latest from Meet the Parents cowriter John Hamburg, could...

What's playing in Wynonna Judd's ear? The country music diva is wowed by guts, heart, and let-'er-rip realness.(Music)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... She's more about touchstones than rhinestones these days, but Wynonna Judd hasn't slowed down. Besides being a country music star (she's won five Grammys and had 14 number one hits), she's a mother and a teacher, homeschooling her two children,...

Chocolate of the month.(Teuscher Champagne Truffles, new candy)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... In the summer of 1947, struggling Swiss chocolatier Dolf Teuscher fell asleep with his eyes fixed on a pair of champagne buckets and awoke the next morning to create a classic: Teuscher Champagne Truffles, one very sweet dream. (617-536-1922;...

The getaway.(advertisements of Amansala, Auberge du Pelican, Casa Islena Inn resorts)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Q: Every winter I daydream about sunny beaches. The reality: frozen windshield wipers and a limited vacation budget. Any suggestions? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A: Breezy, secluded, unrepentantly low-key, Auberge du Pelican...

Something to think about.(changes in life )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... CHANGE IS THE NATURE OF LIFE; IT HAPPENS TO US ALL. TRANSFORMATION IS MORE DELIBERATE, INTENTIONAL; IT CALLS FOR THOUGHT AND SOMETIMES PLANNING. TAKE A MOMENT TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: 1 Write down a pivotal time in your life, an instance...

At quit's end.(Satellite Sisters)(women smokers)
January 1, 2004... With great fanfare, a good friend announces that her New Year's resolution is to quit smoking. She enlists your support. Of course, you say. But three weeks later, she's puffing away at a party. Question: Do you give her grief about her return...

Belatedly yours: wait, was it the 13th? The 17th? You mean your birthday was last month?'s system means never having to say "sorry, I forgot.".(Getting Organized)
January 1, 2004... I HAVE THREE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE who are extraordinary at remembering birthdays--my aunt, Thelma, my sister-in-law, Sue, and my friend Camille. Every year a card arrives by mail--on time--from each of them, defining that day for me with their...

Going with the flow: thoughts to hang on to as change sweeps you along through life.(O to Go)
January 1, 2004... Disconnecting from change does not recapture the past. It loses the future."--Kathleen Norris "Every moment of one's existence one is growing into more or retreating into less." --Norman Mailer "Change, when it comes, cracks...

The O list.
January 1, 2004... "A few things I think are just great."--OPRAH Compartmentalizing "It's an open-and-shut case: Here's the most fun, practical, multifaceted place ever to stash your jewels." (Leather jewelry box, $47, Wolf Designs; 866-289-9653 for...

The hot zone: cool lime shoes. A lemony clutch or raspberry tote. If you're already sick of winter, here are the sunniest accessories this side of paradise.(Style Fashion)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... GREEN MEANS GO--straight to where the best accessories grow. These edgy, just-picked extras supply precisely the right tartness, as in a cushy lime hobo (Coach, $398), a ribbon-tied, alligator-edged raffia clutch (Barranda, $450), or a qulrky...

Eye candy, anyone? Sweeten your day with a single delectable item--like a really rosy cashmere scarf or an apple green wallet.(Fashion)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... * HIGH-VOLTAGE PINK--in small doses--shocks your closet, helps to blush up your winter palette. First, croc and gator were the high-end exotics; lately, it's snakeskin in neon colors, like these glamorous, shapely slingbacks (DKNY, $550). They...

Look what we found! Scent-sational soaps, a foot cream with a conscience, the perfect lip gloss, and more ... Here's what O's beauty editors fell in love with this month.(Beauty Girls' Toys)
January 1, 2004... Well-Heeled WE'D SPENT A BLISTERING DAY last summer traipsing around the city when Epoch Firewalker Moisturizing Foot Cream ($12) showed up on our desk, so we needed no prompting to kick off our shoes and massage in the silky stuff. Within...

Skincare makeovers; You may think you're using the right stuff on your face, but is it what the doctor would have ordered? We asked three top-notch dermatologists to review three women's skincare staples. Result: much reshuffling of bottles and tubes; misconceptions cleared up; skin, ditto.(Beauty Report)
January 1, 2004... Jill Rosenberg, 29, editorial production manager [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CONCERNS Prone to breakouts; confused about what products work for adult acne. OUR EXPERT Neil Sadick, MD, clinical professor of...

Shorn free: in a beauty rut? Need inspiration to make a change? Here's how one woman reached the cutoff point and wound up feeling a lot lighter for it.(Beauty)
January 1, 2004... BETHANN HARDISON-TALENT MANager, television producer, and former runway model--clutched something tightly in her right hand. "What's that?" we asked her, though we suspected what it was. She uncurled her fingers to reveal one soft dreadlock,...

Ask Val: questions about caring for your nails? You've come to the right place. O's beauty director, Valerie Monroe, gives you the straight story.(Beauty)
January 1, 2004... Why do my nails break and split easily, and what can I do about it? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Beyond the obvious reasons--using your fingers as screwdrivers, pop-top openers, and staple removers--you may be having problems simply because...

Force of nature: bringing in fruits, vines, and the occasional goldfish, floral designer Ariella Chezar creates lush, gorgeous, totally unexpected arrangements. We could all take a leaf, and a couple of twigs, out of her book.(Comfort Zone)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... MAKING ARRANGEMENTS For anyone facing an empty vase, Ariella Chezar--the 30-year-old designer behind the flowers here and the book Flowers for the Table--has a couple of suggestions: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

The power of intention: where are you heading? What's really important to you? Sharon Salzberg on the clearest, most liberating way to direct your own life.(Life Lessons)
January 1, 2004... TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR CARE. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EVERYBODY KNOWS: TO KILL A VIRUS YOU TAKE ANTIBIOTICS. WRONG. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I have always regarded John as a wonderful teacher, and I think of that incident as one of...

Wait, I thought you were going to have the baby! Once, her ambition was to be a father--distant, glamorous, and cheek pecking. Then novelist Fernanda Eberstadt and her husband had a baby girl. Welcome to reality.(Family)
January 1, 2004... IN THE SPRING OF 1994, AT THE AGE of 33, I got pregnant with my first child. My husband and I had been married for ten months, and although we had been toying with the idea of spending a year in India before we had a baby--we were both...

Women being beautiful.(Reading Room; Woman: A Celebration)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... There is so much joy and grief and whimsy and even holiness in Woman: A Celebration (Chronicle), edited by Peter Fetterman, that every photograph is a thrill. There is the lyrical curve of a shoulder in Steichen's 1906 nude in Memoriam and the...

Love in a time of conflict: a tense, hypnotic new novel probes the triumph of spirit over hate.(Reading Room; Double Vision )(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... IN 1992 BRITISH WRITER PAT BARKER ROCKED THE LITERARY WORLD with her psychological tour de force, Regeneration, the first of a trilogy of extraordinary novels about World War I. Now she has given us a new book, Double Vision (Farrar, Straus and...

The vital sign: a gifted physician examines the healing power of hope.(Reading Room)(The Anatomy of Hope, Jerome Groopman writing)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... "Hope is the thing with feathers," Emily Dickinson famously asserted, "that perches in the soul...." Just how essential hope is to our souls and our bodies is the subject of Dr. Jerome Groopman's lucid and compelling new book, The Anatomy of...

Domestic disturbances: Anne Tyler's new novel is a beautiful, sweeping portrait of family fracture.(Reading Room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... A PRETTY, VIVACIOUS GIRL IN A red coat. A shy, industrious hometown boy. A chance encounter in a Baltimore grocery shop in 1941 as America marches off to war. This is the daringly old-fashioned opening of Anne Tyler's quite contemporary novel...

My old flames: in a sly, candid memoir, Susan Shapiro revisits five exes.(Reading Room)(new book, Five Men Who Broke My Heart)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Have you ever had your heart broken? Have you ever spent a long car drive or the 30 seconds it takes your coffee to cool wondering what ever happened to the high-cheekboned or curly-haired or quick-witted man who broke it? Susan Shapiro did....

No mother to guide her: Kathryn Black searches for how to give what was never given.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2004... In 1960, when I was embarking on motherhood, there was nothing to guide me but an imperfect past. Now there is Kathryn Black's new book, Mothering Without a Map (Viking). Raised by her cold grandmother after her own mother's death, Black was...

Catastrophe on wry: a wincingly good book about two teenage misfits.(writings of Jim Shepard)(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2004... IF JIM SHEPARD'S FICTION CARRIED a sign, it might say DANGER: EXPLOSIVES. In Love and Hydrogen: New and Selected Stories (Vintage), he writes about people whose hearts are fissile material: a woman who takes her emotionally distant husband...

From Russia with dazzle: her flawless stories put Lara Vapnyar on the map.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2004... Author biographies on the backs of their books tend to follow a dull formula. But Lara Vapnyar's bio breaks the mold: She moved to New York from Russia in 1994 and learned English "by watching television and reading Jane Austen and Alice...

Biblio: recommendations from our shelf to yours.(Reading Room)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... * Doris Lessing has been pondering the human condition for decades; will she ever run out of revelations? No, to judge by her intensely readable new collection of novellas, The Grandmothers (HarperCollins), which tackles subjects as loaded as...

Books that made a difference ... and so to read: novelist Tracy Chevalier tucks herself in with old-time classics, modern-day fantasists, and men with blue silk wings.(related article: Tracy Chevalier's Bookshelf)
January 1, 2004... DO YOU KNOW THAT FEELING YOU GET WHEN YOU don't brush your teeth before going to bed? It's not just that your teeth are fuzzy, but your day seems incomplete, like you've forgotten to lock the door or feed the cat. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Get off on the right foot: our poor, neglected feet.(exercises for healthy foot)
January 1, 2004... We abuse them, stomp on them, and squish them into shoes of unnatural shapes and sizes. But we also rely on them for balance, orientation, and to absorb the shock of every step. So if they're out of sorts, the rest of our body compensates and...

The peanut gallery.(research)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Asked to name foods that are good for your heart and your figure, most people might think grudgingly of raw veggies. But recent studies point to fat-laden peanuts as a snack that's great for both. It sounds counterintuitive, but when...

Herpes redux.(symptoms of Herpesvirus infections)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Herpes has been overshadowed in recent years by the devastation of AIDS, but the lower-profile disease has been stealthily thriving. In a study presented at a recent conference, researchers tested more than 5,000 people in affluent suburbs and...

Supplementary, my dear Watson.(testing of dietary supplements)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The next time you stand, stumped, before the vast shelves of dietary supplements, take comfort in knowing you have a sleuth on your side: ConsumerLab.com, bane of scurrilous pill hawkers nationwide. Since 1999 the company has been independently...

Time for you!.(Products and services to help you ease back into your regular schedule and treat yourself)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2004... The season of sending gifts and caring for others is coming to a close--now it's time to care for yourself. Slow down and put the focus back on you--your health, your happiness, your leisure time. As you pack away the last of the holiday...

The way to eat: beyond the hype, the fads, and the nutri-nonsense, David L. Katz, MD, gives you all you need to know to step up to the plate.(Body Wise)
January 1, 2004... Q I am a 37-year-old mother of two who has been battling bulimia for the past 20 years. I've been to therapy and support groups, but I can't seem to overcome this demon. I feel like I have a black cloud over me that affects not just me but my...

From fat to thin: first she lost 18 pounds. Then 50. Then 130. Finally, 175. Frances Kuffel realized that making such a monumental change is like moving to another planet. If you think weight isn't central to identity, to how you're judged, read on ....(Body Wise)(Excerpt)
January 1, 2004... On a rainy Saturday morning in 1998, Frances Kuffel walked into a roomful of strangers and began a transformation that would leave no aspect of her life untouched. Frances, then 41 years old and a literary agent in New York City, weighed over...

Oprah talks to Madonna: the queen of personal transformation opens up about her new life--which sounds tame but (the girl can't help it) still has the power to shock.(The O Interview)(Interview)
January 1, 2004... Another year, another chance to ask yourself if you're really where you want to be. If you're feeling more caterpillar than butterfly, Martha Beck is here to tell you that metamorphosis isn't always pretty but it is always awesome and...

The new ease.
January 1, 2004... Gorgeously nonchalant. Wonderfully comfortable. These clothes fuse undemanding shapes with luscious touch-me fabrics for fashion that's a step up from sweats--but just as good to move in. Photographs by Fernando Bengoechea

Cook sharp!(Paula Disbrowe)
January 1, 2004... Take one French-trained, ranch-based cuisine artist (chef Paula Disbrowe). Add one slightly conventional kitchen staple (mustard). Now watch as potatoes, beef stew, salad dressing, and rock shrimp take on low-cal, tangy, feverishly delicious...

Growing wings: what goes on in the cocoon of change is always a bitch, but the results can be beautiful. Martha Beck talks you through the four phases of human metamorphosis. Get ready to fly!(analogy)
January 1, 2004... Nobody said it was easy. Whether you're reinventing yourself as a size 10, a marathon runner, or a high-functioning ball of fire, the road to change is rough. This month we salute the thousands of women who took O's healthy-living challenge a...

The O health challenge: a year later.(weight loss program)
January 1, 2004... One woman went from a size 20 to a size 10. Another lost 114 pounds. Most began baking and grilling; eliminating sugar, chocolate, and soft drinks from their lives; exercising regularly--and completely changed their bodies and their attitudes....

Goal interrupted.(The O Challenge)(Bob Greene advises)
January 1, 2004... WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH... the tough get help. And anyone who says changing a habit isn't a constant struggle is a liar. What you need could be a pep talk (listen in as Bob Greene remotivates three fitness dropouts). It could be a pill (like...

Science's best new strategies ...(The O Challenge)
January 1, 2004... Smoking. On their own, individual treatments don't pack a great punch, but together they're turning into a knockout. You can double your chances of quitting if you combine nicotine replacement and support groups or go on the prescription drug...

Are you ready to change? And what to do if you're not quite there.
January 1, 2004... As you settle into your daily KitKat bar, the thought hovers, Give it up, wimp. That you're planning to quit junk food might be stating things too boldly; someday you'd like to clean up your diet and lose the weight. But--with excuses growing...

The pivotal moment: it's what comes between before and after, and it makes all the difference. Eight writers on their own private wake-up calls ... accompanied by images that capture the drama of change.
January 1, 2004... MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM When I was a child in the early sixties, we performed H-bomb drills at school. The teacher would announce that the enemy had aimed a hypothetical atomic bomb at our town, and we'd all crouch under our desks. In the event...

Breathing space.
January 1, 2004... Feel the cool air against your cheeks as you gaze out across this quiet pond in Mystic, Connecticut. Watch a pair of delicate swans glide beneath snow-dusted branches. PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL MELFORD

The lost girls: the abduction and safe return of Elizabeth Smart makes us wonder: What's it like to go through physical and psychological captivity--and then try to go on with your life? Three survivors, now grown, talk with Emily Yoffe.(Alecia Thoma, Monica Berge, Jessyca Mullenberg)
January 1, 2004... HE CHOSE THEM BECAUSE they were so young, so beautiful. They looked perfect together, a blonde and a brunette. His plan was that the girls would fall in love with him and have his children. And if that didn't work, he was going to kill them....

Very upscale: sleek, witty, and wonderfully modern, these machines could make a reality check almost feel like fun.(Strategies and Details for Home Food)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... * A streamlined, chromegleamed machine looks best in a clean, minimalist setting with plenty of shining tile and white towels. Frongtgate, $69; 800-626-6488. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Feet first: This whimsical scale has sole, in the...

Cook sharp!(The Recipes)
January 1, 2004... A little dab'll do ya: Mustard goes great with stews, salad dressings, and panini (for story, see page 132). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] All recipes make 6 servings. Paula's Favorite Green Salad 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice ...

Shop guide: (all prices are approximate).(Buyers Guide)
January 1, 2004... COVER/HERE WE GO P.15 Linda Allard Ellen Tracy suede shirt, $725, Neiman Marcus; ellentracy.com. BELATEDLY YOURS P.48 DK Living pink resin tray, $199, dk living.net. Striped birthday card, $5.50, happy birthday card, $5; 2004 red calendar,...

"All these years I've been feeling like I was growing into myself. Finally, I feel grown".(What I Know for Sure)
January 1, 2004... WOW, I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT'S here! I made it. Fifty. Me. My first and foremost reaction is hallelujah!!! I'm so grateful. I think of all the notable and noteworthy people who didn't see 50. Those we knew as icons, like the John Kennedys,...