Free Pass: On Glimmers, Magic, and Magical Thinking
September 25th, 2025 | by Cheryl Klein
Kids dive headfirst into joy without contemplating their worthiness, without guilt, without considering geopolitical context or their most recent bloodwork
About Cheryl Klein
Cheryl Klein
Cheryl Klein’s column, “Hold it Lightly,” appears monthly(ish) in MUTHA. She is the author of Crybaby (Brown Paper Press), a memoir about wanting a baby and getting cancer. She also wrote a story collection, The Commuters (City Works Press) and a novel, Lilac Mines (Manic D Press). Her stories and essays have appeared in Blunderbuss, The Normal School, Razorcake, Literary Mama, and several anthologies. Her MUTHA column “Onesie, Never Worn” was selected as a Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2022. She blogs about the intersection of art, life and carbohydrates at breadandbread.blogspot.com. Follow her on Twitter: @cherylekleinla.
Author Archives: Cheryl Klein
Disptach from the Summer of ICE: May the Ghosts of Chavez Ravine Haunt You
July 3rd, 2025 | by Cheryl Klein
I thought maybe the kids misunderstood how citizenship works. It turns out I did
Forward Facing
June 2nd, 2025 | by Cheryl Klein
People are always trying to predict things about babies: their gender, which parent they’ll look like, whether they’ll be full of grace because they were born on a Tuesday
Requiem for Target
March 28th, 2025 | by Cheryl Klein
Moms daydream about solo trips to Target. Moms make memes about Target. Target promised it had our backs
In Praise of Antibiotics and DEI Hires
February 10th, 2025 | by Cheryl Klein
Knowing that Joey is alive because of research from the early 1900s makes me wonder what diseases my kids might be at risk for later in the 21st century if today’s research skids to a halt
Hazy Shade of Winter: Fire, Destruction, and Survival in Los Angeles
January 24th, 2025 | by Cheryl Klein
In bed in my sister’s old bedroom, my son asked, “Will our house burn down?” “No,” I said. In my head I added, knock on wood.
The Flawed-Mom Memoir My Kid Might Write
December 16th, 2024 | by Cheryl Klein
People rarely write memoirs about purely happy childhoods
The Wild Robot as Transracial Adoption Story
October 30th, 2024 | by Cheryl Klein
I watched it as an allegory of a determined but clueless white woman adopting a Brown child. (Is there anything more on-brand for a white woman than seeing every movie as being about me?)
Cultural Studies: My Son, the N-Word, and Knowing Your Memes
October 7th, 2024 | by Cheryl Klein
Love is love, but fear is many things
Filling in the Gap: A (Very) Short List of Activities for Pre-Tweens and Toddlers
August 28th, 2024 | by Cheryl Klein
Scream into a fan to make their voices sound weird. Take turns trying to shove each other through the cat door