"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
recovery
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
Call it God
"Masson remarked that we'd had a very early lunch, but really lunch was a movable feast, one had it when one felt like it."- Camus, The Stranger Depending on which tree you fell from, expectations about what you might grow up to be may vary. According to Pinterest houses, bodies, wardrobes, parties, vacations, careers, food,…Read more Call it God
Climb
During the descent I realized the bizarre, carpeted, runway was also the only way to get back up. It was yellow, like me. The confident grip of parked tires offered the illusion that I too could stick to the practically vertical plank in the event that I needed to return. Where are we going? To…Read more Climb
Don’t
Don't show them your drawing They'll find the mistakes, compare it to what's already on the fridge or that Picasso we saw on the field trip last year. Third grade is no excuse; third degree. Don't ask them how you look They'll find the bump in your pony, the hole in your sock which is…Read more Don’t
Sail
6 years ago I took the ultimate bath in the Gulf of Mexico. Healing? To say the least. Last night I dreampt I was on a boat. It looked like an enlarged version of those floating food carts in Thailand. Down the center were enclosed shops , salons and galleries. Along the perimeter were open…Read more Sail
How I Didn’t End Up on Food Stamps
A twenty something vegan blogger posted a video called Food Stamps to Six Figures in One Year. If YouTube had been a thing when I was 15 I would've grabbed a notebook and watched it with high hopes. As a grown woman who found her way out organically I pressed play with objective curiosity and…Read more How I Didn’t End Up on Food Stamps
Telling Stories
“Balanced emotions are crucial to intuitive decision making.”-Michael Eisner “There's a saying in Neverland that every time you breathe, a grown-up dies.” -J.M Barrie Peter Pan If the media told the story of the human experience through a trauma-informed lens could it lead to world peace? Yes. According to headlines women are either selfish hags, whores, damsels in distress,…Read more Telling Stories
Pick Up Sticks
Bend over and look- My Mother One, two, Buckle my shoe; Three, four, Knock at the door; Five, six, Pick up sticks; Seven, eight, Lay them straight: Nine, ten, A big fat hen; Eleven, twelve, Dig and delve; Thirteen, fourteen, draw the curtain, Fifteen sixteen, the maid’s in the kitchen, Seventeen, eighteen, she’s in…Read more Pick Up Sticks
Born in Providence 