Reprinted from The New York Times with the express permission of the author. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
Drawing created by Byron Eggenschwiler to accompany Peggy Klaus's essay in The New York Times. Click the above image to see the full-size original drawing.“YOU can’t be afraid to ask,” my Uncle Art used to say when recounting tales of his successful 40-odd-year career selling mattresses up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
My uncle was talking about making the sale, but corporate …

Peggy Klaus was a guest on The New Agenda’s blog talk radio show, “Chewing the Fat with Ophelia” in February.  This essay originally appeared on The Huffington Post.  The New Agenda originally published an excerpt, and by request of the author’s representative we have updated the post to include the entire original text.  The author’s opinions are her own, not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
Photo of Peggy Klaus by Jim Wilson, NYT
In December 2008, when I was writing a commentary for the New York Times on how women often …

Editor’s Note: Peggy Klaus was a guest on the February 23rd and March 16th editions of Chewing the Fat with Ophelia. She’s an Ophelia favorite. TNA is happy to have her cross-post this article about bully-busting, which is chock full of helpful advice. You can read more from Peggy at her website. Enjoy!
“Did you fall down and smack your little head on the pavement?” snapped Miranda Priestly to her assistant in The Devil Wears Prada.  With that one line, played with abandon by Meryl Streep, the character instantly personified the worst kind of …