Rien ne pèse tant qu'un secret. Nothing weighs more than a secret. - Jean de La Fontaine Listening my way through Tommy Tomlinson’s memoir, The Elephant in the Room; the story of his struggle with food addiction, obesity and a desperate affair with choosing comfort over the effort it takes to live more and exist…Read more Ooh La Lie
J
“he never says anything off the top of his head”
― Alice Walker, The Color Purple
Drift
Some places, the far away and familiar, help us remember who we are, despite the world helping us forget. My eyes, skin, hair and soul have craved home for close to a decade; probably longer if you count the existential pangs of birth. Bloody mess. The desert parched more than paper; bleaching ever exposing bone…Read more Drift
100 Seeds
What are we grateful for? Let us count the ways. Dear dishes, sorry, we didn't count you. I used to have my clients spend one group session making a list of 100 things they’re grateful for which at first felt impossible and they probably thought I was a sadist. Have you even been listening to…Read more 100 Seeds
Not Buying It
Healing from complex trauma while moving up the food chain is like running a marathon across a mountain range. No time for souvenir shopping or group sing-alongs. The third and fourth shift are waiting. Hurry up! There's a reason we're tired. Well intended self-help gurus ultimately hurt because they fail to address the blanket of…Read more Not Buying It
Parable of the Rich Man
A rich white man who'd lost all his fortunes woke up on the psych unit where I worked during the recession. He thought taking his life was the answer to losing what he'd learned had been everything; money, status, caviar. In the weeks that followed his new reality, he joined our partial hospital program for…Read more Parable of the Rich Man
Holy Matcha
“I met him when he was broken.” I said, referring to the day I met my husband in the park after he’d separated his shoulder on a trail. "That’s how we all meet each other.” he said. And then I had my first matcha latte made with peace, love, almond milk and understanding. It was…Read more Holy Matcha
Chapter Compost
"This preoccupation with surpassing the mother is apparent in women whose development hesitates or altogether ceases as they become obsessed with food. For who can bear this vision of the mother’s life, impoverished, sacrificed, depleted?”~Kim Chernin. Re-reading this book which I first devoured between the stacks on the library floor at college. Then, as now…Read more Chapter Compost
