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
faith
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
Love Notes
His and Her morning meditations. His is pink. The place was crawling with people who were only thinking about themselves being seen, like a concert, which is ironic. You’ve come to see the band hoping they’ll see what a fan you are, like church. Where’s the music? Why doesn’t it work to just say to…Read more Love Notes
Cut
Don't bother flattering me with your Fancy font Full of holy smoke And deliberation About who did or didn't need A penal implant Sacred substitution For what? The cosmic garden Fertilized with human shit? Good Lord, Tired of being your whore Bleeding love from Slit wrists and I's Owe. Ewe. Mi. Bloodshot Dry The silent…Read more Cut
Stardust
"Everybody tells the truth with something."-Glennon Doyle At the end of ballet class the teacher used to have us line up to get little red, blue, silver or gold foil stars which she'd stick to our leotards. It was a sign we'd done well, even if all we did was flap our arms and legs…Read more Stardust
Surrender
"Mommy's alright, daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird. Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away."-Cheap Trick Until I learned how to love, prior and hungry attempts felt like a cheap trick. Men can eat more than women. Commercials sell more than useless products which end up in our collective dumpster of misguided leaps…Read more Surrender
Somebodies
I followed MSN's series on Poverty in America. Article after article shared depressing, definitive data pointing to the growing effects of systemic oppression, the desperate need for affordable housing, healthcare, living wages and a revision of where the government draws the arbitrary poverty line. Maybe it's an imaginary line on the white sandy beach between…Read more Somebodies
Book Report
For God so loved the world...he gave us an extra hour to write this weekend. Creeping up on the 50,000 word mark with a goal of 120,000. I'm guessing this is true whether we're writing fiction or fact but I find it hard to linger in the details of certain stories because I'm excited to…Read more Book Report
To Reach His Own
Last night I dreampt we were being held captive by a wealthy man no one could see, like Gatsby. He kept us in round cages inside his jungle-esque garden where we could look but not touch. The cages were akin to fishbowls. His beautiful friends contemplated us like objects in a museum. Outside the gates…Read more To Reach His Own
Born in Providence 