feature
Families featured post, a Families Media favorite.
Oksana Ivanets on Military Journalism, War Trauma, and Witnessing Russian Crimes in Ukraine
Oksana Ivanets is a Ukrainian military journalist and lieutenant colonel who served in both the State Border Guard Service and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. She has been a special correspondent for ArmyInform. She has reported from the frontline and recently de-occupied areas, especially in the Kharkiv region, documenting war crimes, occupation conditions, returning prisoners, and the experiences of soldiers and civilians under attack. Her work combines military communications, field reporting, and witness-based storytelling. In this interview, she reflects on service, trauma, propaganda, frontline ethics, and the moral burden of recording violence while preserving Ukraine’s war testimony for future history.
By Scott Douglas Jacobsena day ago in Families
Your Health, Your Right: How to Live Better Every Day. AI-Generated.
This year, as communities across the globe mark the occasion, the United Arab Emirates stands as a shining example of a nation that has taken that principle seriously. From the bustling streets of Dubai to the calm corniche of Abu Dhabi, both UAE nationals and the millions of expatriates who call this country home have reason to feel protected. The UAE's mandatory health insurance framework — one of the most comprehensive in the region — ensures that residents, regardless of nationality or income, have access to medical care when they need it most. Platforms like Shory have made navigating this landscape significantly easier, allowing residents to compare, understand, and access health insurance coverage in a straightforward, transparent way — removing the confusion that once kept many people, particularly new expats, from getting adequately covered. It is a quiet but powerful safety net, one that transforms World Health Day from a symbolic celebration into a lived reality for people from over 200 nationalities sharing this remarkable land. Safeguarding health here is not left to chance; it is written into policy, backed by infrastructure, and felt in every clinic visit, every emergency room, every routine check-up that catches something before it becomes something worse.
By Sarath Menona day ago in Families
Why Good Intentions Make a Bad Legal Standard
Why Law Reaches for Intent in the First Place Legal systems lean toward intent because it feels humane. Motive appears to reveal character, and character feels like a stable guide for judgment. In emotionally charged domains like parenting and custody, intent offers something comforting: the belief that outcomes can be understood, and even forgiven, by examining what someone meant to do. Courts frequently ask whether a parent acted out of love, fear, confusion, or malice, as though the answer to that question can reliably predict what the child will experience over time.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast5 days ago in Families
The Disappearing Art of Self-Respect
There is a discussion most people avoid because the minute it begins, the room usually splits into two (2) shallow camps. One side insists clothing carries no social meaning and should never be interpreted. The other treats any discussion of self-presentation as moral panic wearing respectable clothes.
By Dr. Mozelle Martin13 days ago in Families
Beloved
Flowers cascade down the aisles of a quiet church, the pews filled with friends and loves ones. At the alter stand the largest of the arrangements, fragrant flowers wafting their perfume, through the chapel, certain to create and evoke scent memories in future recollections of this day. The parishioners file in and will soon file out, with whispers of, “It was a beautiful service,” “The flowers were so lovely,” and “I’m sorry for their loss. His passing was long in coming, but so sudden.”
By Alexandra Grant14 days ago in Families
The Yellowed Booklet
I visited home recently and decided to help my parents go through some of the old belongings and clear out things we no longer needed. One day, my father opened a box tucked inside a long-forgotten bag. As he sifted through its contents – old passports, letters, papers, and receipts – he pulled one out and handed it to me.
By Harpreet Lota16 days ago in Families
Do I Have To?
Tuesday was a “national” day of celebration, but not all were in celebratory mode. While our nation and other nations were partying and engorging themselves on corned beef, potatoes, cabbage and an over abundance of beer, one person was grieving and going down a rabbit hole of sadness, over the death of a parent.
By Alexandra Grant20 days ago in Families
Love That Acts, Not Love That Speaks
When Love Became a Language Instead of a Practice In modern parenting culture, love is increasingly defined by what is said rather than what is done. Emotional affirmation, verbal reassurance, and constant validation are treated as the primary evidence of care, while less expressive forms of love are often overlooked or misunderstood. A parent who says “I love you” frequently and validates feelings consistently is assumed to be providing something essential, while a parent who demonstrates care through sacrifice, consistency, and enforcement may be perceived as distant or emotionally limited.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcastabout a month ago in Families
