When my husband was diagnosed with a rare liver disease, I made an astonishing discovery: the risks I took at my job actually helped me manage the ordeal. As a professional ski patroller, I carry explosives, start avalanches, hike in chest deep snow, and haul heavy toboggans carrying gravely injured skiers. We women patrollers do this side by side with the men. While some might find my work a bit risky, I find it essential.

In the movie, (now available on DVD), “I Don’t Know How She Does It,” main character Kate Reddy (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) lays in bed at night unable to sleep.

My husband and I had been married less than a year when crisis struck.

Life gets crazy sometimes. Every day the news highlights the most recent crisis du jour, spinning out stories of the latest financial, political or environmental catastrophe. It’s enough to make you crazy. Even without the gloomy stories on the news, our own lives are often enough to send us into a panic.