Other Works by Renee Lonner

 Back story:

The pandemic had created a simultaneous medical and mental health crisis and I was working long hours both with individual patients and employers across the country. I had always been a news junkie but the pandemic took that to a whole new level – for most people, I would assume. In my “spare time,” the last thing I wanted to do was read something serious. Particularly deadly serious. All of us needed perspective and most of all, we needed to be able to laugh occasionally – or just smile.

In that vein, the best humor, for me, has always been what Jerry Seinfeld described as “about nothing.” That is, the funny things that happen in your home with a partner, with your children, in the market, waiting in line at the theater, anywhere. When your friends at a dinner say hilarious things and you’re thinking “why isn’t anyone recording this?” I so admire and enjoy the likes of Nora Ephron, Whoppi Goldberg, David Sedaris, Lily Tomlin, Jerry Seinfeld, Tina Fey, Joel Stein. “Shouts and Murmurs” in The New Yorker is, of course, the first place I turn – that is, after reading all the cartoons. During lockdown I caught up on the comedy shows that I had missed in the prior several decades.

Ultimately, the pandemic created the need for therapy of the literary kind. I re-read some of the humor essays I had written over the years and they gave me the incentive to write more that were specific to the pandemic. When the vaccine was released and we started to venture out of the house more and interact again with people, I found humor in that transition – anxiety, of course, but also humor. In that period, one of the first things that made me chuckle was that we had witnessed the absolute collapse of clothing standards, such as they were. That fact, in and of itself, was worth at least one funny essay. One thing led to another...

Several of my humor essays have been published and the links to them are at the bottom of this page. While most of the essays are what I call observational humor (some are about family members, who provide the best material ever!), a couple are satirical. One of them, with the link below, is titled “I’m (Not) Sorry: Nuanced Apologies” and, as I’m sure you can guess from the title, comes right out of our current culture. 

A serious piece of mine has also been published, "Can You Hear Me Now?", which you can check out at the bottom of the list below.

My book, “If You Give A Man A Tesla: A Parody” is doing well on Amazon and in several Barnes and Noble stores.

I’ll continue to post the links to essays here, as they are published. I hope you enjoy them and your comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated! 

Pandemic Genies that Will Never Go Back in the Bottle | by Renee Lonner | Medium 

Carline Rules For Your New Middle Schooler – Little Old Lady Comedy

The Birds and the Bees Are in Reboot : University of Dayton, Ohio (udayton.edu)

I'm (Not) Sorry: Nuanced Apologies : University of Dayton, Ohio (udayton.edu)

 No, Being an Introvert is Not Like Having a Disorder - But it Can be Truly a Pain in The Ass : University of Dayton, Ohio (udayton.edu) 

 The Best Milestone Anniversary Gift, Ever, for Your Daughter-in-Law : University of Dayton, Ohio (udayton.edu)

 The Writers' Lost and Found : University of Dayton, Ohio (udayton.edu) 

 Aging Out or In: Musings on Ages and Stages : University of Dayton, Ohio (udayton.edu) 

 Ridiculous from One End to the Other : University of Dayton, Ohio (udayton.edu)

Lord of the Flies, As Replayed in My Dining Room : University of Dayton, Ohio (udayton.edu)

Husbands Say the Darndest Things! : University of Dayton, Ohio (udayton.edu)

Ratatouille : University of Dayton, Ohio (udayton.edu)

 For a change of pace, I hope you enjoy this serious piece, titled "Can You Hear Me Now?" It was published by The MockingOwl Roost. I'm honored that this lovely art and literary magazine liked my take on their challenge theme "Overcoming."

https://tinyurl.com/TheMockingOwlOvercoming

© Renee Burns Lonner 2024. All rights reserved.