Sheryl Crow’s life today doesn’t look exactly how she imagined it would ― and the singer-songwriter is completely OK with that.

The Grammy winner, who releases her new album, “Be Myself,” on Friday, says she feels more liberated and fearless than ever.

“I thought things were going to look different in my life with regard to getting married and having babies and all that,” Crow, 55, told The Huffington Post. “And I would not change a single thing. I’ve traveled all over the world and I’ve had other jobs, which have definitely informed who I am and how I look at this part of my life. I wouldn’t trade it.”

Crow, who worked as a teacher before pursuing music, adopted two boys (now ages 10 and 7) and says that being a mom has been one of the best experiences she’s ever had.

“I’m enjoying being present for my kids and being able to experience life through people who are going through it for the first time,” said the Missouri native, who now calls Nashville home.

Her sons, Wyatt and Levi, are part of what inspired the new music. There’s a song, for example, called “Alone in the Dark,” in which she sings about turning off devices and technological distractions.

“I’m raising two people and [I’m seeing] their interest in cell phones and YouTube and how different it is for them ― and my navigating having gadgets around and trying to be there for my kids,” she said. “So there were just topics that could not not be present on the record by virtue of the fact that they were an immediate influence on my life.”

Crow also couldn’t avoid the current political and social climate when writing songs for the new set, her first since 2013’s “Feels Like Home.”

“This record felt like all the emotions and topics were in the ether. There was no escaping them,” she said.

The album, produced by Jeff Trott, harkens back to the vibe felt on Crow’s earlier records. In fact, Crow says it has the same “spirit” as her self-titled 1996 sophomore album, which featured the hits “A Change Would Do You Good,” “Everyday Is a Winding Road” and “If It Makes You Happy.” She was coming off the success of her debut, “Tuesday Music Night Club,” and the runaway hit, “All I Wanna Do.” It was around that time, though, when Crow felt as though people were just “over” her.

“It’s human nature. People were excited to be in on the discovery bandwagon and that emotional ownership of someone who was just starting and word of mouth … but then when it became a giant commercial product, it lost its kind of punkiness and when you start showing up on every cover people feel like you’re not that same person that you were. I mean, I understand it,” said Crow. “I’ve seen it happen with so many celebrities and now it’s different because it’s to your advantage to be on the cover of everything, but back then it didn’t help your art at all.”

She also felt pressure to snag single after single following all of the early success. Not to mention some of the pushback she received after being, well, what felt like practically everywhere.  

“It was an unbelievable blessing, but I just didn’t know how to handle that. How could people not be happy with me? I’m such a people pleaser, or I was back then until I got breast cancer and then I quit being a people pleaser,” Crow said about being diagnosed with the disease in 2006.

Now, two decades later, Crow says she feels comfortable with where she’s at in her professional career and personal life. She’s not writing music for “pop culture” or for Top 40 radio ― or even for a particular age group. And Crow’s still having fun, she says. 

Even more so, she’s happy just being herself. 

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While black Americans are regularly left out of mainstream literary landscapes, when we are afforded racial representation, it’s sometimes limited to tiresome archetypes and narratives. 

Personal trainer, vlogger and mother Maria Stuart has created an antidote to this issue, at least within the young adult (YA) genre with Red.Blk.Grl., a subscription box she launched on April 1. She’s one of many black entrepreneurs who’ve recently made efforts to make quality books more accessible to the black community. 

“Black girls deserve to read about themselves in books,” she told the Huffington Post on Monday. “I want to reach all the bookworms, be they teens or adults and put black YA books written by black women in their hands.”

The Red.Blk.Grl. box, which currently has 85 subscribers and is targeted towards young black girls, contains one book as well as additional products, which can be anything self-care items to snacks, that are inspired by the book’s themes. Stuart did a soft launch of the box in January by creating an Instagram account to see if people would respond to the concept of Red.Blk.Grl.

To emphasize the necessity of the box, Stuart, who is also an aspiring YA writer, mentioned a study conducted by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC). According to CCBC, only 278 of the 3,400 children’s books published in 2016 were about black characters. Only 33 percent of those books were by black authors. 

“Representation matters... In high school, there is much assigned reading in literature classes, and [black girls] have no choice over what they read,” she said.

“I recall having a strong desire to find a book with characters that truly felt and thought like me,” she continued. “I often could find something close to it, but there was a constant sense that something was missing from books where none of the characters were black.”

But in some YA books that do contain black characters, Stuart said the themes are often repetitive. 

“I think the typical idea when it comes to black YA are things like escaping slavery, overcoming Jim Crow or even gritty urban tales filled with drugs and sex,” Stuart said. “I want to offer more contemporary books that still deal with realities of life, but also that offer sci-fi and afro-futurism,” she continued. “Each book selected must have main characters who demonstrate resilience, who are or learn to be self-reliant.”

While you have to be a subscriber of Red.Blk.Grl. to know which books these narratives will be reflected in, you can sign up for the boxes here. 

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For some, marijuana can feel like a magical elixir, particularly when it comes to making art. Getting high can help alleviate stress and self-doubt, get the creative juices flowing and awaken budding artists to the the tactile excitement of making work, instead of worrying about the final product. 

This is the reasoning behind “Puff, Pass & Paint,” a “4/20 friendly art class” now offered in cities in Colorado, Oregon, Washington D.C., Nevada and California ― all of which have legalized cannabis. The weed wizard behind this exceedingly chill vision is Denver-based artist Heidi Keyes.

Keyes leads two-hour art-making sessions for a maximum of 20 students at a time, all of whom must be at least 21 years old. She guides her students through a series of choreographed painting steps, in the style of “paint and sip” classes like Pinot’s Palette. Yet experimentation and play are highly encouraged; artists are not required to strictly following Keyes’ lead.

Participants are also not required to smoke, but the class offers a safe space for them to light up if they so desire. For some unfamiliar with their creative intuition, a few hits can help put the mind at ease. “Cannabis helps us break out of our shells and rediscover the childlike wonder that exists in making art,” Keyes explained to The Creators Project, “in using our hands to paint and write and draw and play with clay.”

According to The Creators Project, there is no typical “Puff, Pass & Paint” student. The classes usually draw experienced stoners and weed newbies alike, some people in their 20s and some in their 80s.

Keyes has donated vouchers for the class to veterans groups and other communities in need. “Just a couple of weeks ago, in San Francisco, a veteran had been gifted a spot,” Keyes said. “And he came up to me afterwards with tears in his eyes to tell me that this was the first time he had felt relaxed since he returned from combat. This isn’t just a class or a business for me — it’s a movement.”

Ultimately, the class’ mellow and blissful atmosphere fights stigmas often associated with weed, showing how the plant’s effects can be healing, stimulating and absorbing ― not all that different from the experience of making art. 

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With huge displays in parades of military might, it’s easy to forget the individuals who live and work in the reclusive nation of North Korea. 

Agence France-Presse photojournalist Ed Jones has been taking portraits of North Korean citizens since being assigned to the agency’s bureau there in 2016. 

The photos show glimpses of the people who don’t usually get in front of the camera, though there is an approval process that Jones has to go through to get the images. 

“Access to people is an important facet of my photography. But it can be something of a challenge in North Korea,” Jones wrote in a blog post for AFP. “Approaching people on the street for interviews or taking candid photos outside of designated areas is generally frowned upon.” 

Requests to photograph citizens are usually approved. Two North Korean AFP staffers have to be with the photographer at all times. 

Jones is usually pressed for time in portrait sessions, but believes it doesn’t hinder the final result.

“But despite the speed with which these portraits were taken and the reticence of most of those who agreed to pose, there was still a moment of intimacy involved ― however brief ― that felt authentic and unguarded,” Jones wrote.

See more photos by Ed Jones below:

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The Tribeca Film Festival knows how to nail a kickoff. By the time the crowd was exiting Radio City Music Hall after the world premiere of the documentary “Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives” on Wednesday night, Jennifer Hudson had paid tribute to Leonard Cohen and Whitney Houston, Carly Simon had sung “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and Aretha Franklin had one-upped everyone in an enveloping white gown that sparkled all the way to the rafters.

Tribeca often opens its annual festival with a glittery entertainment-industry showcase. In 2014, the Nas doc “Time Is Illmatic” led into a full performance of “Illmatic” from Nas himself. In 2015, Ludacris took the stage after the “Saturday Night Live” documentary, because why not? Last year’s premiere of the Met Gala doc “The Last Monday in May” skipped the musical finale, but Tribeca more than made up for it this year, parading out Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick and Earth, Wind & Fire, as well as the aforementioned acts, for an hourlong concert. It was all in the name of Davis, the 85-year-old record impresario who bolstered their careers. 

Davis’ pride and joy was always Whitney Houston, who has her own documentary premiering at Tribeca next week. “The Soundtrack of Our Lives,” directed by Chris Perkel, is strongest during sections devoted to Davis and Houston’s devoted professional partnership. Houston, whom Davis signed to Arista Records at age 19, died on the night of Davis’ famous Grammy party in 2012. He had long pleaded that she get help for her drug problems. “I know that Whitney never intended to leave so early,” a mournful Davis said toward the film’s end. “We all thought that she had beat it.” It’s only fitting that Hudson used part of her Radio City set as an ode to Houston. The audience cheered at the documentary’s footage of Houston’s performances, particularly her famous “Star-Spangled Banner.”

But first! First there was Barry Manilow, whose medley included “Looks Like We Made It,” “Mandy,” “Lola” and “Copacabana.” 

“What a movie! What a life! And I was there!” Manilow said as the concert began, referring to Davis.

After Manilow finished, we were reminded that Hudson is a master of dramatic entrances. She sauntered out, gently cooing while canvassing the stage, as if the stationary microphone were following her wherever she walked. She broke into “Hallelujah,” putting a soulful spin on the widely covered ballad. Turns out Jennifer Hudson does a mean Leonard Cohen. 

Considering the documentary was so Whitney-focused, and given Hudson has paid homage to the elder diva before, the crowd erupted as Hudson launched into “I’m Every Woman,” “How Will I Know” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” During the latter, she wanted to dance with Davis, so she wandered into the front rows to find him.

After Hudson said her goodbyes to the crowd, Earth, Wind & Fire, joined by Kenny G, hit the stage. (“From Kenny G to Notorious B.I.G. ― that’s distance,” one Davis disciple says in the movie.) Next was Dionne Warwick, who sang “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” and “That’s What Friends Are For.” Warwick quoted something Davis told her when she wanted to quit music: “Young lady, you may be done with the industry, but the industry is not done with you.”

A frail Carly Simon, clad in a floor-length green smock that would have won her friends in Haight-Ashbury circa 1967, snapped her fingers to “Come Around Again.” Reader, maybe you knew that Simon recorded “Itsy Bitsy Spider” in 1987, but I did not. Therefore, imagine my surprise when Simon introduced a chorus of schoolchildren to join her for a lilting rendition of the nursery rhyme.

“Sometimes you don’t realize where inspiration comes from,” Whoopi Goldberg, who emceed the concert, said after Simon’s performance. 

In the end, all of these folks were an extended warmup for one of Davis’ other signature acts, Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. Commanding R-E-S-P-E-C-T and then some, Franklin entered wearing a showstopping fur coat, which she quickly dropped, and a billowing white gown that seemed to follow her across the stage.

Now 75, Franklin has said this will be her final year performing live, even though she sounded fantastic belting out “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and “Freeway of Love.” In between the songs, she apologized for any shortness of breath, saying she’s been fighting an upper respiratory infection. But to my untrained, “Divas Live ‘98”-obsessed ears, Franklin sounded as accomplished as ever.

What a night. 

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Last week, a New York Magazine piece by Andrew Sullivan received legitimate blowback for a final paragraph that described Asian Americans as “among the most prosperous, well-educated, and successful ethnic groups in America.”

As NPR’s Kat Chow pointed out in a response, Sullivan’s assertion lumps together a hugely diverse population, equating the experience of a Filipino-American with that of a Japanese-American when research refutes the assumption. Chow condemned Sullivan’s continuation of the “model minority” myth, which congratulates Asian Americans for overcoming discrimination and systemic oppression to achieve “the American Dream,” therefore relieving white America of responsibility and placing the burden on minorities, like black or Muslim individuals, who might not be viewed culturally with the same high regard. 

Lonnie Lee, curator and owner of Vessel Gallery in Oakland, has spent the past two years thinking about the stereotypes, generalizations and myths that commonly manifest in discussions about Asian-American identity ― and Asian-American art. The resulting group exhibition, “Excuse me, can I see your ID?,” complicates and disrupts the stale narratives that persist both inside the gallery space and beyond it. 

Inspired to organize a show featuring entirely Asian-American artists after then-President Barack Obama declared May to be Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, Lee struggled to create an identity-oriented exhibition that expanded understandings of Asian Americans rather than affirmed or constricted them. “I was looking for artworks that portrayed the identity of Asian Americans as something different than what we’ve seen in the past,” Lee told The Huffington Post. “I was really seeking statements about identity that went beyond Asian-ness.”

Race plays a critical role in how we understand ourselves and each other, but for Lee, it was important to her that participating artists had the freedom to express aspects of themselves that have nothing to do with where their lineage leads. “I was excited to portray a real diverse array of artists who happened to be Asian-American,” she said. “Identity is a construct, made from many different components. Each individual artist understands identity differently. I am hoping that visitors question their social conditioning and see the individuality of each of the various artists and their narratives.”

This expectation that identity boils down to race, at least for everyone who is not white, extends to the art world as well. So often, Lee explained, artists of Asian descent are expected to make art about their Asian-ness, preferably using traditional Asian techniques. 

Lee’s daughter, Jasmine Lee Ehrhardt, who curated a film program to supplement the exhibition, agrees. “The art world is dominated by white people,” she said. “For artists of color, you have to talk about race and ethnic identity, but not in a way that makes white people too uncomfortable. This show is not intended for the white gaze. It was curated by an Asian-American curator, featuring Asian-American artists. It’s not about self-cannibalizing the work that’s expected from artists of color, putting themselves on display explicitly to be consumed by the viewer.”

“Excuse me, can I see your ID?” is diverse not just in terms of the artists it represents but the work they create ― from technique to media to style. “They are not just performing race,” Ehrhardt said, “they are dealing with all these different, complex issues that I think the art world doesn’t often reflect.”

The exhibition got its name because, as Ehrhardt put it, “Asian people are presumed to be perpetual foreigners.” The curators were specifically interested in this idea of physical documentation and how it dictates who is allowed to move freely through this country. “There are a lot of undocumented Asians and Pacific Islanders in America right now,” Ehrhardt said. “It forces us to consider how Asian Americans can and cannot move through space. We’re interested in the tension between these actual papers and the feelings we have inside.” 

One featured artist is Dave Kim, a Korean-American man raised in Los Angeles and based in Oakland, whose large-scale paintings revisit moments in his childhood and adolescence. As a teenager, Kim joined a Filipino gang called the Maplewood Ave Jefrox, despite the fact that Kim himself was not Filipino. 

Kim’s experience shows a convoluted composition of identity in flux, at any given time a cluttered collage of people, places, influences and urges. As Kim explains in his artist statement: “Even though we’re Asian, we took on the characteristics of Latino gangs in every way, from claiming a neighborhood, to the attire and even the language we used. I think the thing to remember is that I joined it not to be violent or become a criminal, but to be a part of something, to find belonging, importance — find purpose.”

In the painting “Flea,” Kim creates a portrait of a friend who died from an overdose, shown staring at the viewer, tattoos covering his bare chest.

“This is definitely not the ‘model minority’ we often hear about,” Lee said. 

Another artist complicating predominant stereotypes is Omid Mokri, who, trained in traditional Persian miniature painting and art conservation, currently makes work while serving a 12-year prison sentence in San Quentin State Prison, for what the artist describes in his statement as an “unjust, forced sentence” for self-defense. (Lee is not familiar with the specifics of Mokri’s charges or arrest.)

Mokri and his family fled Iran during the 1979 revolution. He then earned degrees from both the Rhode Island School of Design and California College of the Arts. As an Iranian, Mokri diverges from the “typical” image of an Asian American. In a time when Islamophobia runs rampant, he is certainly not immediately assessed as a “law-abiding, peace-loving, courteous [person] living quietly among us.”

For his artwork, Mokri gathers the scant materials available to him in his circumstances: recycled bedsheets serve as canvases, pulverized colored pencils as paint, hair affixed to plastic spoons serve as paintbrushes. “I’m including this work because it’s incredible what an artist can do with such humble materials,” Lee said. “I am interested in presenting his art because I am curious how the judicial system was shaped by his face, how he looks. If he was white, what would his sentence have been?”

Each artist featured in Vessel Gallery’s exhibition brings a similarly compelling narrative and utterly singular perspective to the space. Both Lee and Ehrhardt hope the exhibition sparks dialogue that diverges from the typical conversation topics.

“Talking about ‘Ghost in the Shell’ is interesting, but that’s not the only issue affecting the community,” Lee said. “We want to expand the conversation, address the hard topics and offer other views of what it means to be Asian-American.”

She hopes to stage an entirely Asian-American exhibition every other year during Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month moving forward. This year, however, the show feels particularly necessary.

“The administration has created this sense of urgency,” Lee said. “People recognize that this is a shared struggle, a place upon which we can build solidarity. The show is not an attempt to derail larger conversations, but to say, ‘This is our stake in it.’ This conversation is also important.”

“Excuse me, can I see your ID?” features work by Cherisse Alcantara, Rea Lynn de Gusman, Dave Young Kim, Hyeyoung Kim, Kyong Ae Kim, Omid Mokri, Juan Santiago, Sanjay Vora, and Evan Yee. The show runs until May 27 at Vessel Gallery in Oakland, Calif. 

Welcome to Battleground, where art and activism meet.

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Although an investigation into his alleged sexual harassment has led to Bill O’Reilly’s dismissal from Fox News, the right-wing media personality will still have a platform, courtesy of his book publisher.

Publisher’s Weekly reported Wednesday that Henry Holt ― an imprint of Macmillan ― “has no intention of altering its support of the bestselling author.”

Just last month, O’Reilly released a commercial successfully book through Henry Holt called Old School: Life in the Sane Lane. The book ― a sendup of progressive values, from trigger warnings to safe spaces ― begins with a quiz, wherein readers can determine whether they’re “Old School,” or a “Snowflake.”

Questions range from the politically divisive (“If someone wishes you ‘Merry Christmas’ what’s your immediate response?”) to the smug (“If you happen upon a raging warehouse fire late at night, do you: a) Hope the firefighters are safe and express concern for the people who work there during the day. b) Get out of your car and take a selfie with the fire in the background?”)

Henry Holt has an unnamed September release co-authored by O’Reilly; so far, the publisher says “plans have not changed” for the title.

The imprint’s other recent releases include Elizabeth Warren’s This Fight is Our Fight and Coretta Scott King’s My Life, My Love, My Legacy.

It’s unclear whether the publisher’s decision to keep O’Reilly on its list is inspired by commercial or ethical aims. Publisher’s Weekly points out that O’Reilly was the bestselling adult nonfiction author of 2016; his book Killing the Rising Sun sold over 1 million copies in print. With the ability to tout his titles on his show, he had the sort of built-in fan base that a debut author might not. But, a book market expert predicts that his sales will decline, especially from casual fans and women readers.  

On the other hand, free speech organizations such as the National Coalition Against Censorship ― which stood by Milo Yiannopoulos’ book before the title was pulled ― would likely argue that cutting ties with O’Reilly would be a violation of his rights.

Yiannopoulos’ book was cancelled after the “alt-right” personality made a comment condoning pedophilia. Either the statement was finally an ethical breach the publisher was unwilling to accept, or it turned Yiannopoulos into a long-term financial liability. Most likely, it was some combination of the two.

Regardless, O’Reilly’s charges seem not to have warranted such action just yet.

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The line “Bill Murray stepped back from the microphone and closed his eyes in bliss” has probably been written or contemplated before. 

The line “Yes, he was singing Gershwin with classical accompanists” has not.

Until this week, that is, when The New York Times announced to the world that the “SNL” alum’s latest work, “New Worlds,” is actually a classical music project ― or “a program of songs and literary readings paired with chamber music,” to be more exact.

For the project, which has been in the works since 2013, Murray sings songs like Stephen Foster’s “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” and tunes from “West Side Story.” He also reads Walt Whitman and Ernest Hemingway while cellist Jan Vogler’s trio plays Schubert, Bach and Piazzolla. Sounds like a gas!

“New Worlds” will premiere at Festival Napa Valley in California on July 20, after which Murray will take the project on tour. (He’s coming to Carnegie Hall on Oct. 16, and they’ll be a recording release in August.)

So, is Murray a good classical musician? Well, the short profile describes his voice as “a brassy growl.” The actor, in typical fashion, outlines his performance style modestly, and abstractly.

“When they start playing,” he said, “the demand is so great that if you are attending to who you are right now, it brings out something that you couldn’t have visualized or planned for. You hear all those other voices saying, ‘That didn’t sound like Tony Bennett,’ or, ‘That B flat’s not going to break a light bulb.’ But they’re receding. They’re gone.”

We can’t wait for Jonathan Schwartz’s take on the whole thing. It’ll be epic.

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For the roughly one in 68 kids in the U.S. with autism spectrum disorder, completing seemingly simple tasks can be huge milestones.

In honor of Autism Awareness Month, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Marcus Autism Center created “This Is Autism,” a beautiful photo series highlighting a group of children who frequently visit the center.

“The photos capture each child’s greatest achievement after undergoing therapy,” a representative for CHOA told The Huffington Post.

“For kids with autism, every milestone matters and should be celebrated,” she added. “So we set out to capture those special moments ― the little things that they’re now able to do as a family after visiting Marcus Autism Center.”

Keep scrolling to see photos and read about the accomplishments of five children with autism.

Quinn, 3

“Before going to therapy, I had a difficult time dropping Quinn off at daycare. Most days, I would be late for work and stay with her because she was so upset. Now, she initiates the hug and kiss when I drop her off.” ― Quintin Harris, Dad

Gavi, 9

“Gavi has come a long way. We couldn’t function at home prior to treatment. He didn’t acknowledge his younger brother, and they never played together. Now, they are best buddies and have a really sweet relationship.” ― Lauren Surden, Mom

Isaac, 7

“At this time last year, 7-year-old Isaac wouldn’t ask for things. Instead, he would take my hand and lead me to what he wanted. I never knew what he was thinking or feeling because he couldn’t express himself. Today, it’s like he’s never met a stranger. He interacts with everyone he meets and loves to order food from his favorite restaurants.” ― Keely Wright, Mom

Ainsley, 7

“Last year, trips to the grocery store were hard for us. The lights, crowds and noises would be too overwhelming for Ansley. Since completion of the Feeding Disorders Program, she now loves shopping trips ― particularly the macaroni aisle!” ― Mary Mullikin, Mom

Ethan, 4

“Ethan struggled with communication and understanding his family. After just seven months of therapy, he can now understand me. He is starting to ask for things he wants, and his vocabulary and expressiveness grows day by day.” ― Haley Lindau, Mom

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While getting tickets to “Hamilton” still seems fairly impossible (someone help us, please), visitors to New York can head a few miles north of Broadway and quietly hum “It’s Quiet Uptown” or “Hurricane” while visiting Alexander Hamilton’s old digs. 

“Grease: Live” and “Liv and Maddie” actor Jordan Fisher, who took on the dual roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical in late 2016, recently joined forces with park ranger Vlad to check out the Hamilton Grange National Memorial in Harlem as part of the ongoing #FindYourPark campaign. 

When talking about his interest in the Hamilton Grange house, Fisher said, “I’m the guy that if I’m starting something new, I wanna learn everything about it. I’m that guy. You can’t hand me a Rubik’s cube and [have] me not figure out how to solve it.”

(It’s true — Fisher said he had spent an entire day when he was about 16 figuring the puzzle out.)

After showing off his history chops, Fisher was able to chat a little bit about his time with “Hamilton.” He explained that before each show, the cast would come together for a prayer, a tradition started by Christopher Jackson (aka George Washington) and carried on by actor Seth Stewart and Fisher himself.

“It’s just kind of this moment where whoever was ready at the time and available or downstairs would come together and just kind of get on the same pulse and calibrate and get ready to do the thing that we knew so well,” he said. “It’s a good reminder for us to kinda go out and do the thing that people spent a crap ton of money on tickets probably a year and a half ago. It’s a beautiful moment.”

“Whenever a new [King George III] comes in,” he added, “there’s a thing called a corny-ation ... There’s a garter that goes just below the king’s knee, and there’s a passing. Brian D’Arcy James started it when he passed it along to Jonathan Groff, and so on and so forth.”

“We have, like, a tea party and that kind of thing. It’s fun,” Fisher said.

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Oprah Winfrey is a one-of-a-kind woman.

Her life story is inspiring, her presence powerful and her influence unmatched. And when it comes to successful black women in media, Oprah reigns supreme.

But if Oprah is a well-crafted diamond, consider Baltimore the pressure that helped make her shine. She moved to the city in 1976 to pursue her career as a newscaster, which presented both great opportunities for success as well as challenges she eventually overcame. She spent nearly eight years in the city, first working for a local TV station ― where she was assigned to learn about every neighborhood ― and later as a personable and popular co-host for a show called “People are Talking” that helped to significantly boost her profile. 

She told stories, and she told them well ― but in the nearly eight years she lived in the city and of all the people she came across, there was one hugely significant story of a woman who lived in Baltimore who she ― and much of the world ― never knew about: Her name was Henrietta Lacks, also known as the “mother of modern medicine,” and she was a black woman who produced the first immortal human cell line, known as HeLa, that has entirely revolutionized medical research.

“I worked in Baltimore as a young reporter from the time I was 22 to 30. I lived there, I went to church every Sunday,” Oprah said Tuesday at a press event with all black women reporters, including myself. “I am a student of the African American culture ... I have never, in all of my readings, in all of my stories, heard of HeLa or Henrietta Lacks. I could not believe that, how could I have been in this town all this time and never seen one thing about her?”

It wasn’t until Oprah read Rebecca Skloot’s New York Times best-selling biographical book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks that she learned of Lacks’ story and how she changed the world.  

“When I first read her story in 2010, I wanted to tell the story,” she said. And by “tell,” she meant giving the story the full-blown Oprah treatment and bringing it to life through film and her own magic touch. Because, after all, when Oprah stumbles across a good story, she shares it with the world.

“It is my nature to share everything,” she said. “I wanted as many people to know about the story as possible ... and so now you do.”

“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” premieres Saturday on HBO, starring Winfrey as Deborah, Lacks’ daughter, who was desperate to learn more about her mother’s cells and how they have been used for medical research. The family had been unaware of the dealings of Lacks’ cells for decades because her name had been changed to Helen Lane in print. This effectively concealed Lacks’ identity and kept hidden from the family how her cells had been “taken, bought, sold and used in research without her knowledge or theirs,” according to Skloot’s book.

Skloot, a freelance science writer from Portland, Oregon, first learned of Lacks’ story in high school and was so moved by it that she pushed to make it more widely known through her book ― which took years of heavy research and the family’s cooperation to create. Skloot, who is portrayed in the film by actress Rose Byrne, tracked Deborah down, and together, the two went on a journey to discover what exactly had happened to Lacks’ cells. The experience also unveiled truths that allowed Deborah to learn more about herself and her heritage.

“The reason Deborah is taking the journey [with Rebecca] in the first place is because she really wants to know about her mother’s cells,” Oprah said. “The journey for her is to discover herself and by learning about her mother, she [did]. This relationship becomes her balm, her solace, her comfort.”

Oprah is remarkable in her role as she portrays Deborah’s perseverance and the pain she experienced for decades from not knowing more about her mother. Deborah wanted to dig into history to discover what exactly happened that day in 1951 when Lacks, who was a mother of five, entered Johns Hopkins Hospital. And Deborah demanded to know how it was possible that her cancer cells continued to live on despite the fact that they also led to her death later that same year.

Lacks was 31 when she first checked herself into the hospital for the excruciating pain she had been experiencing in her lower stomach. Doctors discovered that a cancerous tumor had been growing on her cervix at a terrifying rate. Researchers at the time were conducting studies to better understand the cancer and, though Lacks never gave doctors authorized permission, they removed two dime-sized pieces of tissue that were eventually used to successfully create the first immortal human cells ― those that could repeatedly replicate themselves outside of the body without ever dying. They came to be known as HeLa.

It was a fascinating discovery and one that shocked doctors, who knew that HeLa cells had potential to make way for a new world of possibilities in medicine. And they did. Over the decades, HeLa cells have led to countless medical breakthroughs ― they helped to create the first polio vaccine; have traveled to space for research on the impact zero gravity has on human cells; been used to identify abnormalities in chromosomes; helped in studying the mapping of the human genome; and aided in research of the human papillomavirus, commonly known as HPV, which causes the cervical cancer that killed Lacks.

To many, what happened to Lacks is perceived as a disturbing and unethical case. However, Tony-award winning actress Renee Goldsberry, who beautifully portrays Lacks in the film, believes she showed immense courage throughout her harrowing experience at Hopkins ― which, Goldsberry said, is a reminder of the bravery black women, like her own grandmother, express every day. 

“I love the bravery with which she moves through the biggest nightmare anyone can imagine, and that I think that informs me of the bravery my grandmother must have had,” Goldsberry told reporters Tuesday. “That’s what inspires, that’s what I want all of us to take from this, it’s to embrace the idea that these women were powerful. Not victims, they’re powerful.”

George C. Wolfe, the award-winning director who led this film, reinforced that message, saying that while it’s important to reflect on the painful parts of Lacks’ legacy, it’s also crucial that we examine what makes her story so empowering.

“When you speak about Jim Crow, it’s important to talk about the injustice of it but equally important is to talk about how the community fortified itself. Henrietta was part of that dynamic,” he said. “[She had] an incredible sense of responsibility and caring and needing and nurturing and therefore then the cells come along and they’re continuing to do the exact same thing.”  

“And one of the things that I love, really, really, conceptually love,” he continued, “is that on paper, you would look at Henrietta Lacks: She’s marginally educated, she’s a black woman in Jim Crow South, she has five children when she’s 31 ... you’d go: ‘Oh, [she has] no power.’ But in death, any time HeLa comes into contact with any other cell, they [show that they are] in charge ... that power of who she was just continues to live on.”

Any time HeLa comes into contact with any other cell, they [show that they are] in charge ... that power of who she was just continues to live on.”
George C. Wolfe

It was Wolfe and his well-respected work in theater and film that ultimately convinced Oprah to play the protagonist Deborah in the movie, which she admitted was a challenging but rewarding role. She also credits her experiences in media for helping to mold her into the actress she is today.

“I’ve done a lot of healing being on the ‘Oprah’ show every day; it really was an effective space for me to learn a lot about myself, and life and people and dysfunction,” she said.

Like Oprah, Lacks’ influence in the world is uniquely powerful. And now, more people are able to learn of the real story behind the woman who, in a very special way, lived on even after her death. Sadly, as remarkable as both the book and the film are, Deborah never got to see them. She died in her sleep in 2009, mere months before the book’s release. But Oprah believes she now rests peacefully, knowing she did and gave all she could to have the world know the truth about her mother.

“I think that in the end, that’s what gave her a sense of peace and why she was able to leave the planet, because she knew it had been done,” Oprah said. “The real work that she came to do, the real work that she needed to resolve within herself, had been finished.”

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There’s no denying it anymore — people who are ostensibly adults are completely over the moon for unnaturally colored and/or sparkly food named after mythical beings.

If this wasn’t already apparent before, the booming popularity of Starbucks’ suspiciously bright “unicorn frappuccino” — which is reportedly a huge pain for baristas to make and doesn’t even taste that great — should seal the deal.

But it may be time for unicorns to hoof it to the sidelines, as there’s a new fairy tale-based food item in town — so-called “mermaid toast.” Mermaid toast features brightly dyed spreads and sparkly garnishes like gold leaf, and it’s having a real mer-ment. The snack can also be called “unicorn toast,” but what seems to set mermaid toast apart is blue-green shades and a vaguely aquatic/ocean theme.

This week, Vogue dubbed it “Instagram’s most magical food trend” and credited food stylist Adeline Waugh as being behind the fashionable snack.

Look, mermaid toast is obviously very pretty. And since it’s just regular toast with the spreads (Waugh uses almond-milk cream cheese) dyed different colors, we’re sure it tastes great. But there’s one big problem with mermaid toast: its name.

The fact is, no self-respecting mermaid would ever eat mermaid toast.

It’s true. And in case this revelation is difficult to take in right now, we’ve outlined the main reasons why to make it easier for you.

1. Toast sucks underwater.

Go ahead. Make a delicious piece of toast and go dip it in a cup of water or something. Then let us know if you still want to eat it. Regular, untoasted bread is bad enough when soggy, but water completely negates the main point — crispiness — of toast.

And don’t make some excuse about mermaids eating the toast while popping up out of the water — it’s just not practical to do it that way without it getting wet. Why would a mermaid even go to the trouble of toasting anything under those circumstances? They wouldn’t, and it’s a good thing, because …

2. Using a toaster in or around water is very dangerous

We all know this, right? There have to be about seven dozen movies where someone is killed by throwing a toaster into a bathtub. We can safely presume using one of these appliances underwater is a bad, bad, bad idea. Even if the mermaids were able to hoist the toaster (and a working outlet??) out of the water, the whole thing seems too damn risky.

3. Mermaids are very environmentally conscious.

Work with us on this one. Mermaids clearly care deeply about the aquatic critters with whom they share their underwater homes. In The Little Mermaid, for instance, King Triton denounces humans as horrible “fish eaters.”

And bread in the water could be bad for those critters. As we’ve already established, bread or toast eaten underwater would become soggy and inevitably break apart and float away, beyond the mermaids’ control. Why is this a bad thing?

Well, although plenty of well-meaning people feed bread to aquatic wild animals, it’s generally not a good idea. Feeding ducks, for instance, may seem like an idyllic pastime, but experts have been trying to get the message across for years that bread is actually really bad for ducks to eat. Since it has little nutritional value for them, it fills the birds up and prevents them from eating the food they actually need, which can lead to serious illness. Plus, excess crumbs in the water can encourage bacterial growth and can seriously screw with water quality.

Bread is also known to be bad news for seagulls, turtles, manatees, and fish. Obviously, no mermaid could bear the thought of potentially harming their animal friends.

If all this hasn’t convinced you that mermaid toast just isn’t authentic, probably nothing will. We’re not saying you shouldn’t eat it, just keep in mind that you’re not really a mermaid while doing it.

Oh, and while you’re at it, don’t feed a unicorn frappucino to an actual unicorn. If their digestive systems are anything a horse’s, it could give them diarrhea.

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They say reality is stranger than fiction. In the case of Bill O’Reilly’s Those Who Trespass: A Novel of Television and Murder, let’s hope it’s not.

On Thursday, Entertainment Weekly reported that O’Reilly wrote the novel in 1998, in which a disgruntled ex-TV anchor enacts a revenge fantasy, violently murdering those responsible for his firing.

The novel’s second sentence, centered on protagonist Ron Costello, who’s just entered a media party, reads, “For he was frustrated and fed-up, and what he badly needed was to satisfy a basic human need, the need for some kind of physical release.”

The former Fox News anchor, who was just dismissed after sexual harassment allegations against him resurfaced, has demonstrated what The New Yorker described as “violent impulses” in the past. Of course, it’d be awfully literal and reductive to assume that anyone who writes about violence is capable of violence themselves. But the book’s sexually explicit content might strike some readers as an uncomfortable parallel.

While many fans appreciated Those Who Trespass, a few reviews on Goodreads prove some readers had a hard time believing the revenge plot was purely fiction. 

“I can’t believe O’Reilly wrote this book,” one review reads. “Not because it was super controversial, but rather because it was such blatant wish fulfillment that I would assume he’d be mortified to have people read it.”

“Easily one of the most unsettling books I’ve ever read,” another states, “because it’s obviously just Billy O fantasizing about murdering everyone who’s ever done him wrong.”

“I, personally would be terrified to piss the guy off, after reading this novel of revenge murder,” yet another concludes. 

O’Reilly has published fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books since then, including his most recent title, Old School: Life in the Sane Lane. His current publisher, Henry Holt, has said that it will stand by the author in spite of the charges against him.

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R+L = J was the mother of all “Game of Thrones” theories, but this one is da big papa.

For a while now, fans have speculated that Jon Snow would learn of his heritage in the Winterfell crypts. There are empty tombs in the crypts, set to be the future resting places for Starks, and the theory claims Ned Stark may have put proof of Snow’s parentage down there. As support, Jon has dreams about the crypts in George R.R. Martin’s books.

Now, HBO has released new Season 7 photos, and looky what we got here:

That’s Jon Snow, and he might be in the Winterfell crypts. We don’t know for sure, but the lighting does seem similar to this scene from the show, in which Sansa and Littlefinger talk in the crypts.

If so, Jon might finally find out that his daddy and mommy are Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen.

Other photos have us freaking out, too. Tormund and Brienne appear together (Just make them a couple already, HBO!), and the location Dany shows up in looks like the same spot where those leaked “Game of Thrones” photos were taken.

All men (and women) must speculate:

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During times of transition and new adventures, artist Joy Hwang has always turned to her sketchbook. So when she became a mother, she started documenting the experience with illustrations and sharing them with friends and family on social media.

Now, Hwang posts her art on Instagram and Facebook under the account “Mom Is Drawing.” While her drawings cover topics ranging from pregnancy to traveling with a baby to bedtime struggles, many of her most powerful illustrations focus on one particularly emotional aspect of motherhood: breastfeeding.

“One of the hardest assignments I received as a new mom was to keep my baby alive with my boobs (breastfeed),” Hwang told The Huffington Post. “I’ve always imagined it would come naturally and magically, but it was quite the opposite.”

Hwang struggled with supply issues and tried many different methods to produce enough milk for her baby ― from tea, cookies and pills to eating her placenta to nursing and pumping every three hours “and falling off the chair while pump-sleeping.” The process was exhausting. 

“I remember times when my baby and I both cried all night because I couldn’t produce enough milk,” the mom told HuffPost. “I wanted to breastfeed because I wanted to give my baby the most natural food designed just for her from my own body. Then I found out my milk was set back from traumatic birth, and I was starving her. I was so grateful that formula was there for my baby, and it had my back.”

Eventually, Hwang’s supply came in, and she continues to nurse her now 18-month-old daughter, though she said she may wean soon. The mom is grateful for the bonding experience that breastfeeding has given her. 

“I’m not excited to admit that my connection to my daughter did not happened in an instant when she was born,” said Hwang. “I remember meeting her for the first time and feeling as if we were on an awkward first date, rather than destined soulmates as many mothers and media have described.”

The new mom was filled with guilt and anxiety, especially as she struggled to breastfeed. “Mom Is Drawing” helped with her negative postpartum feelings.

“It helped me to connect with my baby through the only way I knew how,” she explained. “Drawing her and sharing the art online has helped me find my tribe at my fingertips during the stretch of days when I feel isolated from the world I knew before my baby was born. Even on days filled with my amateur mom struggles, I had more inspiration to draw about them.”

Today, Hwang says that her daughter is her “favorite person in the whole world.” She believes art helped her foster such a strong relationship and continues to do so. 

The mom hopes that her illustrations inspire her fellow parents. “I want my drawings to reflect every mom’s journey as well as mine,” she said. “My highest hope is to empower moms and challenge the taboo of breastfeeding and pumping in public and on social media, through sometimes silly or too-honest drawings. I want to open up these conversations and support one another.”

Keep scrolling and check out “Mom Is Drawing” for more illustrations about parenthood.

H/T The Stir

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The exit polls didn’t reflect the most accurate depiction of the Asian-American vote, a new report says. 

Though the 2016 election exit polls from Edison Research showed that 65 percent of Asian-American voters backed Hillary Clinton, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) revealed in its report that the number is actually 79 percent. And South Asian support for the candidate was as high as 90 percent. 

President Donald Trump, however, had received 18 percent of the Asian vote rather than the 29 percent that exit polls had reported.  

“With overwhelming Asian American support for Democratic candidates in the 2016 elections and a rejection of the Trump agenda, it will be important to watch the growth of Asian American voter participation in the 2018 midterm elections,” Margaret Fung, executive director of AALDEF said of the results in a press release. 

Jerry Vattamala, the director of the group’s democracy program, explained to The Huffington Post that discrepancy in data boils down to sample size. The AALDEF’s pool of almost 14,000 voters is more than 14 times the size of Edison’s and serves as the largest sample size of Asian-American voters by far. 

Vattamala further explained that the AALDEF conducted their survey in English along with 11 different Asian languages, so it included more voters who have limited English proficiency. Edison Research, however, conducted its poll in only English and Spanish. 

“Our survey was able to capture substantially more voters’ preferences and was also comprised of voters that may not have responded to an English only survey,” he told HuffPost. 

Beyond showing strong Asian-American support for Clinton, the results revealed that the majority of the group voted for the Democratic candidate in most Congressional races. The report detailed that they also overwhelmingly supported stricter gun control laws. And most backed laws to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations, as well as comprehensive immigration reform including a path to citizenship. 

Asian-Americans’ shift toward Democratic candidates has a lot to do with the way in which the group has been historically treated in the U.S., Vattamala said. The minority often supports Democratic candidates’ stances on immigration, civil rights, and inclusiveness due to discriminatory U.S. policies in the past like the Chinese Exclusion Act and the imprisonment of Japanese Americans. 

“Asian-Americans have been the targets of exclusionary rhetoric and discriminatory racist policies, resulting in a rejection of those type of proposals or candidates that adopt or otherwise support similar legislation or policies,” he said.   

The minority group’s opposition to Trump was mostly rooted in the then-presidential candidate’s “attacks” on Asian-Americans, Vattamala explained. Trump’s talk of restricting immigration ― particularly his statements about ending “the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program” ― haven’t sat well with the South Asian and Chinese communities. And besides his jabs at China, his proposed Muslim ban and statements about Muslim registries felt reminiscent of a painful history for Asian-Americans. 

“His proposed Muslim ban and possible Muslim registries were repugnant to many Asian Americans and were unbelievably supported by Trump and his team by citing to the Japanese internment as valid legal precedent,” Vattamala said, referring to Trump surrogate Carl Higbie’s remarks in a Fox News interview. Higbie later walked back on his comments. “The Muslim ban was also reminiscent of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was initially passed as a temporary ban.”

Asian-Americans have been shifting toward the Democratic party for more than two decades, with the party’s share of the Asian American presidential vote more than doubling, Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder of AAPIdata.com wrote in The American Prospect Magazine. In fact, Asians are now twice as likely to identify as Democrat than Republican, a 2016 survey showed. 

It’s also of note that there were significant rates of undecided voters on several important issues ― especially among naturalized citizens and older Asian-Americans with limited English proficiency. The group notes that ultimately, there’s a serious need for more educational outreach. 

“Asian-Americans can very well be the difference in close elections, and candidates would be well-served to identify and address the needs of the Asian American community,” Vattamala told HuffPost. 

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Three years ago, Martin Bruckner started illustrating the hilarious and absurd things his toddler daughter said. He compiled some of these quote images into a book, which he gave his wife, Michelle, on Mother’s Day. At the urging of friends, he also began sharing them publicly on social media.

Today, Bruckner makes people around the world laugh with his “Spaghetti Toes” Tumblr and Facebook, where he posts illustrations of his daughter’s funny and bizarre quotes, as well as custom quote images commissioned by other parents.

The dad can now add published author to his resume.

On April 4, Workman Publishing released I Love You With All My Butt!: An Illustrated Book Of Big Thoughts From Little Kids. The book features Bruckner’s funniest pieces of kid quote art.

“The main idea of the book changed ever so slightly over time, but we all knew that we wanted to showcase the hilarious, sad, gross and loving things that kids say,” Bruckner told The Huffington Post.

Bruckner believes his book appeals to grownups and kids alike. “I have had so many parents tell me that they bought the book for themselves, but when they went to go look for it they couldn’t find it,” he said. “It was only after asking around the house that they found out their children had taken the book for their own. This book started because of my family, so it’s so perfect that it has become a favorite book for families to share.”

Harper is also a fan of the book and likes to flip through all of the drawings. “It’s crazy how she’ll remember the exact time and place where she said something over three years ago, but can’t remember the funny thing she said yesterday morning,” Bruckner said.

Ultimately, the dad has been overwhelmed by the response to the new book and the Spaghetti Toes Tumblr and Facebook pages. 

“I just love how something that I started as a silly Mother’s Day present for my wife, something that I initially did for a sort of visual history of my daughter’s childhood, has turned into something that brings a lot of joy to a lot of people,” he told HuffPost. “I get so many messages from people saying that in a world full of bad news, my little daily drawings based on the musing of my child make them smile.”

Continue scrolling to see some excerpts from I Love You With All My Butt!

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Following the release of “Jurassic World,” a popular theory started going around that’d make anyone say, “Clever girl, internet.” Somewhat ironically, it’s now a superhero who’s bringing us back to reality.

The theory claims that the kid who Dr. Alan Grant scares the hell out of in “Jurassic Park” grew up and turned into Chris Pratt’s “Jurassic World” character, Owen Grady. 

As proof, the characters’ ages would line up nicely with the release dates of “Jurassic Park” (1993) and “Jurassic World” (2015), and, as Redditor farceur318 explained, “Grant tells [the kid] to ‘have a little respect’ for raptors, and in the trailers for ‘Jurassic World,’ Pratt’s character describes his relationships with the park’s raptors as ‘a relationship based on respect.’”

Yeah, we know how you feel.

The theory became so popular that even director Colin Trevorrow wouldn’t dispel it, saying, “Let’s not kill the fun.”

Well now, it’s killed. It’s killed dead. 

“I have heard about that,” Pratt told The Huffington Post in an interview. “I don’t see it as being true.”

Pratt, who’s starring as Star-Lord in the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” said, “It’s sweet though. And I love that kid, and I love the idea of that possibility, but I do officially say, as the bastion of Owen’s backstory, but not the creator of the character, that’s not true.” Pratt then laughed and added, “It’d be cooler if it was.”

The actor’s got enough cool stuff going on in his life right now. His “Guardians of the Galaxy” follow-up is getting a lot of positive early reviews, and it has Pratt over the moon (figuratively, not literally like Star-Lord).

“We stuck the landing,” he said. “I have a feeling, through the course of my career, there are going to be very few moments like this in my life. And it feels really fucking good.”

It probably feels a lot better than when Dr. Grant scared you with that raptor claw, right? Er ... never mind. Like dinosaurs, this theory is officially extinct. 

But who cares? Pratt is so excited about “Guardians of the Galaxy” that you can’t help but be excited, too.

”Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” hits theaters May 5.

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French artist Abraham Poincheval, who famously spent a week inside a rock and two weeks inside a bear sculpture, has succeeded in hatching chicken eggs after incubating them for some three weeks.

Poincheval embarked on his latest project in late March of imitating a mother hen by incubating some 10 eggs with his own body heat inside a glass vivarium at Paris’ Palais de Tokyo contemporary art museum.

At the time, he estimated it would take 21-26 days for the eggs to hatch and the first did so on Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the museum said on Thursday nine had hatched and the chicks were on their way to a farm. 

For the endeavor, Poincheval sat on a chair, wrapped in an insulating blanket, over a container with the eggs. He could leave his seat for no more than 30 minutes a day for meals.

Earlier this year, the artist spent a week inside a block of stone, while in 2014, he lived in a hollowed-out bear sculpture for two weeks.

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Jennifer Finney Boylan has lived a number of different lives.

An author, activist and educator, she recently established herself as a household name ― especially for LGBTQ people ― after appearing on “I Am Cait,” the E! reality show that documented Caitlyn Jenner’s post-transition life from 2015 to 2016.

But the crucial work Boylan has contributed to illuminating the lives and experiences of trans people spans decades. Her writing regularly appears in the New York Times, she’s served on the faculty of a number of universities, including Barnard College of Columbia University, where she currently teaches, and her 2003 memoir She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders became a bestseller. In 2013, she became the first openly transgender co-chair of GLAAD’s National Board of Directors.

She’s also been recognized as one of the most public faces of the transgender movement long before Laverne Cox appeared on the cover of TIME ― often by fearlessly facing situations involving problematic questioning that would largely be considered offensive today.

In 2005 Boylan appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and opened herself up to invasive questioning about her marriage post-transition. She’s also appeared on 20/20, Today, and countless other media networks over the years, offering her life and journey as a model of possibility for transgender people at a time when few existed in the mainstream.

And now, as the author and activist approaches her 60th birthday ― and celebrates 20 years living publicly as a woman ― she’s releasing a new book called Long Black Veil. The novel pushes her to existentially examine elements inspired by the diverse relationships and experiences of her life ― and the different ways in which she’s lived.

“I guess a thing that I’m obsessed with is the continuity of identity,” Boylan told HuffPost. “I’m in my late 50s now and I’ve been a woman publicly for almost 20 years. So I have these 20 years, I had 20 years as a young man and 20 years as a child. So the thing I wonder about is, what does it mean to be a woman who never had a girlhood? How do I connect the child that I was to the woman that I’ve become? And I think we all do this – there’s a sense that, there’s a lot of before and afters in peoples lives.”

Questions surrounding this reflection on the course of her life are at the heart of Long Black Veil, released on April 11. It’s her eleventh book and a work of fiction ― a thriller that, while not explicitly about trans issues, contains gender-based themes that resonate with her own experiences as a woman, activist and educator. 

“What do we owe the friends of our youth and are we now the people that we have been?” she continued. “And in any life that has a before and after, how is it possible to live one life rather than two?”

Long Black Veil follows a group of college friends in Philadelphia who decide to explore the country’s oldest prison, Eastern State Penitentiary. After finding themselves locked inside, the group is subject to a horrible occurrence ― the consequences of which follow them for the rest of their lives and eventually lead to a member of the group being charged with murder. 

“What I’m interested in is the mysteries of the ways people live,” Boylan told HuffPost. “The secrets that people bear and the secrets that they eventually come to reveal if they’re lucky and if they find their courage. I’ve said before that the big difference for me was not the difference between being male and being female. It was the difference between someone who had a secret and someone who didn’t have one. So that’s the thing I wrote about before – that’s the thing that I’m writing about now too.”

The questioning of the continuity of identity as one ages over the years resonates both within Boylan and a character in Long Black Veil, as issues of gender and coming to live authentically are, of course, at the core of her life’s work.

Boylan plans to continue discussing Long Black Veil during a series of conversations she is currently participating in at the 92nd Street Y in New York City called “Imagining Men & Women,” which will bring her together with a handful of prominent feminists, writers, and one reality star: Caitlyn Jenner.

What does it mean to be a woman who never had a girlhood? How do I connect the child that I was to the woman that I’ve become?

The first talk in the series, a conversation between Boylan, Anna Quindlen and Susan Faludi, took place in late March and focused heavily on feminism and they way it has been shaped by the queer and trans rights movements. The talk with Caitlyn Jenner will happen on April 25 and will largely involve a discussion of Long Black Veil and Jenner’s upcoming memoir The Secrets of My Life, set to hit stores on the day of the talk.

“I don’t think people will be shocked to learn that there are trans issues in the thriller that I’ve written,” Boylan joked. “And some of them are not too far from my own experience, so how that character’s experience contrasts with Caitlyn’s experience is at least one of the things that we’ll talk about. I’m sure we’ll also talk about where she has landed now two years after coming out both in terms of what she’s accomplished, work left undone, disappointments she may have, disappointments other people in the movement people may have with her, and what the future may hold.”

The third event will feature a talk between Boylan and her long-time friend and fellow writer Richard Russo and focus on the pair’s relationship and the way the world has changed in its relationship with and understanding of transgender woman, as well as straight, cisgender people.

As Boylan continues to push the conversation surrounding transgender identity and representation further, we can all learn from her reflection on identity across the span of a lifetime and what it means to age and evolve as an individual. “I am the same person that I was when I was 6 years old in some ways. But in some ways not! In some ways I’m just a completely different person,” she said. “I would argue that the thing that’s the same is soul – something you can’t put your fingers on that you know is real.”

“Imagining Men & Women: Caitlyn Jenner on Transgender Identity and Courage” will take place at 92Y on April 25, while  “Imagining Men & Women: Richard Russo on Fathers, Sons and Friendship” will be held on May 9.

Boylan is also one of the curators of the PEN World Voices Festival, coming to New York City, May 1 to 7.

Long Black Veil is now available for purchase.

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