Latest Reflections
Why this song could not have been written about a man. The high price of being a woman in politics
Luba Kassova | January 11, 2023
This opinion piece was first published in Bulgarian by the Bulgarian news provider offnews.bg “Tired ..., a hungry hyena, I enter the office ... with a moustache on, tarted up and ready for battle, without a penny in my pocket ... at this...
The auditorium may be dark, but it is not empty
Luba Kassova | December 14, 2022
Four years ago, I made a significant change in my career to focus on non-fiction narrative writing. Since then, I have also been dabbling with journalism - my opinion pieces have been published in six countries, and my writing has been quoted in another 70....
When does being a helpful parent become unhelpful?
Luba Kassova | November 29, 2022
“I freaking loved that alarm clock. I loved what it gave me – which was power and agency over my own little life.” In her new book The Light We Carry, Michelle Obama shares an incomparably valuable gift she received from her mother:...
Humanity’s most universal bias and why we should talk to our children about death
Luba Kassova | October 07, 2022
Whether and how much to talk about death with our children has been a point of debate between Richard and me for years. “We talk to them about death too much”, Richard would remark. “We mustn’t focus on it so frequently....
The symbolism of Mikhail Gorbachev’s death
Luba Kassova | September 02, 2022
It is Mikhail Gorbachev’s funeral tomorrow. His death this week knocked me for six. My life would have been so much more restricted had it not been for this man. Although some argue that the corroded communist regime was ready to fall, and that if...
It is 132 days since Russia invaded Ukraine. But who’s counting?
Luba Kassova | July 06, 2022
Not many are counting anymore, which, unfortunately, is what Putin is relying on. The story of the most consequential war and humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II is slowly but surely losing public attention globally, sliding down the home pages...
The seductive but dangerous pull of being the queen of the house
Luba Kassova | June 28, 2022
“To be a mum is to be divided Your energy Your time Your heart You trade freedom for love” Olly’s mum on motherhood. From “Bump” To be a mum is to be divided. To be a mum is to be divided. To be a mum is to be...
The painful cost of being spared the truth
Luba Kassova | June 02, 2022
Recently, I was sat in a middle seat of an aeroplane on the outbound leg of a trip abroad. To my right sat a man separated from his family by the aisle. As the plane was taking off, the man leaned forward, turning his head towards his daughter who...
Has progress towards equality for women stalled?
Luba Kassova | May 10, 2022
The last few weeks have been devastating for women’s rights, dignity and emancipation in two of the world’s most developed countries - the UK and the US. A series of events have exposed the extraordinary levels of objectification of and contempt...
Learning to live with grief
Luba Kassova | April 27, 2022
A version first printed in dir.bg news publication in Bulgaria A defining characteristics of our lives during the last two years of pandemic has been the growing feeling of yearning intertwined with grief. Yearning induced by the multiple micro losses that...
