Photo: Shawn Campbell

We were reading the Frog and Toad story "The Swim", and Toad, silly thing that he is, was worrying about looking funny in his swimsuit. My daughter didn't get it. "Why would someone think they look funny in a swimsuit?" she wondered aloud. It was as incomprehensible to her as my insistence that holding open the refrigerator door lets all the cold air out -- just another weird grownup mystery.

Kids, right? How I wish I felt this way! It is certainly a part of my mothering-a-girl-plan to teach her to feel confident in her own skin. And yet, my excitement about summer plans -- the pool! the beach! the sprinkler! -- is, let's admit it, tempered by my Fear of My Black Suit. You know, that same unassuming black thing I've sequestered myself in since puberty. Usually with a cover-up. And pants. And a portable tent. I'm kidding. (N,o I'm not.)

But you know what? It's National Swimsuit Confidence Week, darn it, and I think we should celebrate. Okay, so it's an ad campaign for Land's End. But it's an ad campaign with a valuable message: Land's End has teamed with the Curvy Girl Guide to encourage women of all sizes to feel confident this summer, and I think it's an idea we can all stand behind. In swimsuits, no less.  And let's hear it for these brave ladies who put photos of themselves in their swimsuits online, over at the Curvy Girl site -- and on the Today Show (as pictured). If they can do it, so can we. I mean, I'm totally not going to do that. But public pool... brace yourself. Mama's leaving the cover-up at home. (Or maybe in the car. You know, just in case.)

Read More:
7 Ways To Find a Swimsuit That Looks Great
The Best Bathing Suits for Every Body

Photo: Thinkstock

Aesha's story is an amazing one, but not for the reasons it was supposed to be. When her beautiful, unsettling face --her nose and ears had been hacked off by her Taliban husband and in-laws-- was featured on the cover of Time two years ago, the young woman became the poster child for the efforts to save and empower the women of Afghanistan. Aesha was brought to the US, where she was supposed to be rehabilitated by the grassroots organization Women for Afghanistan Women, get plastic surgery, and have a fairy tale ending.  Jessica Ravitz tells her winding story for CNN -- a must-read for the way it literally puts a face to the complicated situation in Afghanistan, but also for the sensitive way Ravitz portrays the complex psychology of Aesha who is (how could she not be?) a damaged soul.

As Ravitz puts it, Aesha, who "was given away by her father to settle a family score," "seems starved for attention, and cannot get enough cuddling." The portrait that follows is of an unforgettable personality -- wild, tempestuous, as full of joy and rage as the most capricious toddler. According to Ravitz, "She has had to learn far more than language. Aesha didn’t know there are days of the week...In many ways, Aesha is at a crossroads -- somewhere between a wide-eyed and innocent child, a young woman who has a lifetime ahead of her, and a survivor who’s already experienced more than anyone should."

Read the whole moving essay and watch the video to learn more about Aesha, including the unexpected turn her story has taken. As I weepily read, I can't help thinking how one of the saddest (and most beautiful) parts of this story is how with everything that has happened to Aesha, all she wants is a family. What she's missing most seems to be a chance to be, belatedly, a kid. How the simplest things in life -- a cuddle, swinging at the playground, feeling safe and loved -- are, so often, the most elusive.

Read More:
Afghan Girls Box For Sisterhood
Facing Trauma

Photo: Thinkstock

By the time Sheila Holt-Orsted learned she had breast cancer in 2003, relatives had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, lung cancer, cervical polyps, and an autoimmune disorder. Holt-Orsted, who grew up on her family's 150-acre homestead in Dickson County, Tennessee, decided to "find out if there was a reason there were so many health problems in our family."
           
Digging through county archives, Holt-Orsted was stunned to learn that as late as the 1980s, industrial waste had been dumped into a landfill near the Holts' well. When the state tested the well in 1988 and found the carcinogen trichloroethylene (TCE), the results were chalked up to an error. In 1991, after further tests, the Holts were told their water was safe to drink. Their well went untested for the next nine years, during which time area white families' water was tested, found to be contaminated, and the families were advised not to drink it. It wasn't until 2000 that the Holts' well was finally tested again and deemed unsafe.
           
"During my treatment, I thought, 'If I live through this, I'm going to hold someone responsible,'" Holt-Orsted says. While recovering, she spoke to science professors about TCE's structure, met with local officials, and organized town hall forums to galvanize her neighbors.

Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.

Photo: Jack Robinson

* After Jack Robinson passed away in 1997, Dan Oppenheimer, his boss at a stained glass studio, visited his apartment and found a treasure trove of photographs of 1960s icons. He's been piecing together Robinson's life ever since, and a new book of the photographer's work is available now. (NPR)

* Calling all couch potatoes! Let's all take a moment to remember Eugene Polley, the inventor of the remote control, who died this week at 96. (MPRNews)

* Spend some time getting to know fashion's forgotten god, Luis Estevez. (The Daily)

* "My job is to have empathy and curiosity for things I've never done."—The novelist Richard Ford on writing. (NYTimes)

Photo: Thinkstock

Bruschetta may be best known as toast topped with diced tomatoes, but there are tons of creative variations out there, from lobster to Japanese eggplant. Let these six ideas be springboards for the next time you have friends over or just want a nibble.  Whatever your topping, start with toasted slices of baguette, brush them with a bit of olive oil and then rub the cut edge of a halved garlic clove on one side of each slice.

1. Italian Sandwich
Take the popular combination of melon and prosciutto and turn it into a mini open-faced sandwich: make sure the cantaloupe slices aren't too big, and tear the ham into equally bite-sized pieces. Top with a sprig of fresh mint or basil.

2. Sweet and Salty
Cook six slices of bacon, remove from pan and break into bits. Saute half an onion in the bacon fat until translucent. Add a splash each of apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup and brewed coffee to the pot. Stir the bacon back in and cook slowly until concentrated.

3. Mexican Minus the Tortillas
Saute a diced onion and green bell pepper until lightly caramelized. Stir in 2 minced garlic cloves and 1 tsp. salt. Add a diced sweet potato and a bit more olive oil, then roast in a 400° oven for 15 minutes. Stir in a cup of rinsed, drained black beans.

Photo: Greg Kessler

Q: The skin on my upper lip has suddenly turned dark, like a 5 o'clock shadow. Help!

A: At least you can be grateful that it's not an actual 5 o'clock shadow, right? What you've got sounds like melasma, which is commonly caused by genetics or an excess of estrogen or sunlight, says Wendy E. Roberts, MD, a dermatologist in Rancho Mirage, California. (Roberts also mentions a host of other possible causes, among them a course of tetracycline, waxing, or a harsh microdermabrasion treatment.) She recommends using a prescription skin-lightening compound containing either hydroquinone, kojic acid, alpha hydroxy acid, retinols, or Lumixyl. A series of Fraxel laser treatments may also help fade the discoloration.
            
Keep in mind: Wearing an SPF 30 sunscreen every day will help prevent your 5 o'clock shadow from reappearing.

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The 7 best new sunscreens
4 different approaches to aging gorgeously

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