Choosing to Stay

Trigger warning: Suicidal ideation Today, I’m settling into a long and pretty uneventful holiday weekend. Sweet Ruby had a bit of minor surgery yesterday to remove the remains of a canine tooth after she and Sissy got into a nasty tussle. So, we’re laying low and watching her closely, hoping the stitches in her mouth […]
The Fear

Dear Diary, I’ve been afraid of a lot of things in my lifetime—spiders, heights, Jason Vorhees, the under-the-bed clown in Poltergeist, drinking out of my toddlers’ used cups, jolting myself awake while snoring on a plane, inadvertently swallowing bugs while I’m sleeping—the list goes on. The thing is, it’s usually pretty easy to recognize when […]
HuffPo Said Yes!

Dear Diary, Remember when I said I got an essay rejection on the first full business day of 2024? On January 5, I submitted a second essay to HuffPost Personal—per editor, Noah Michelson’s encouragement—and on January 10, he said yes to essay #2. It was a quick but emotional ride, and I think the lessons […]
Moving into 2024

Dear Diary, The beginning of a new year is traditionally a time to think about how to become a better person, how much weight to lose, how much alcohol to give up, what kind of parenting to engage in, what career changes to make, how to be a better friend, a better human, a better […]
A Tiny Hurricane Lesson

No one filled, challenged, invigorated, exasperated, and illuminated me like Claudia did. She was breath and life and death rolled up in a beautiful package of gentle skin and kaleidoscope eyes. ~ Hurricane Lessons, Chapter 5
Life Lessons from My Eight-Year-Old Self

The autobiography I penned at age eight begins with this: How it all started… When I was young I had some troubles. I had started to grow up to be a very spastic child. Every time I got mad I held my breath until I passed out. My mom was scared. It is a handwritten […]