I chose to do this swim, from Alcatraz to San Francisco, to push myself into an uncomfortable place.

Look closely, and you will find these beauty marks on every, single, mother.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped caring if I was beautiful. I began trying to make beauty instead.

I have learned that I am not perfect. Not even close. I’d like to take a moment, to make a long overdue apology. To My Body:

Stretching toward a new definition of beauty at forty.

There are times in life when beauty is not what you pictured in your childhood fantasies.

She pointed to her timeworn face in the mirror, “When I look, I don’t see flaws I see evidence.”

Our negative perception of our bodies translates into a high rate of eating disorders; in fact, 65 percent of US women and girls report disordered eating behaviors.

Can parents like my friend raise a daughter with healthy body image without moving to Amish country?

And I felt at peace, for the moment, with my body. I wished, then and there, that I could put on my bikini and run with abandon alongside you in yours.