It’s not like I want to go back there. It’s not like I want to be near them again. But we’re in the thick of the holidays, and I’m feeling nostalgic for the smell of biscotti baking in the oven, just the way my sisters used to make it. Slivered almond and cranberry biscotti. Row…
Amnesia
What would you do if you just learned you had amnesia for 40 years? Get mad? Get upset? Get excited? Tell everyone? Well, guess what?! It’s 2023, and I just realized I’ve had amnesia for most of my life. But SHHHHH, we can’t tell anyone? It’s a big SECRET? Because they would become extremely upset….
Harnessing the Power of Anger
Anger is a funny thing. Rage is a funny thing. It can be constructive. It can be a force towards healing. It can be a face that hides a very different emotion underneath. Anger can actually hide repressed sadness underneath. Isn’t that fascinating? Imagine a scenario like this… what if you had something absolutely terrifying…
Leaving before you are ready
How easy is it to leave a cult? For me personally, the answer is “not very.” I pay close attention to the stories of those who have left a religious cult. I admit I am a little envious of the females who made their escape from their family’s cult by marrying a man who whisked…
Momentous occurance
Each time something big happens in my life, I have to record it in a paper bound journal with an actual pen. There’s something about the touch of ink to paper that transfers an event into a reality. The occasion is then locked in time and real. And it’s given a workout, re-lived from as…
Summer ebbs into fall
I haven’t written for quite some time. The summer has been a blur. In between flashbacks, much crying and many solitary walks, I’ve been pretty much out of it. It feels like I’m not in reality much of the time anymore, because reality is painful. I feel detached, like I’m floating somewhere outside of my…
The place where the light enters
Early morning sun in the garden. A friend shared with me the other day a bit of wisdom that hit a thirsty place in my soul. It has soaked into my skin, and I hear it beside me each time I turn my head. So I thought I would share it with you here today. “The…
Lighthearted and free in NYC
I miss my independence. I think about how good I had it those five years living on my own in NYC, completely free, able to go and do whatever I wanted. The world at my fingertips, nothing holding me back. After my fifth year teaching there, I was planning to move to California. I had just…
Submissive no more
I have had this huge epiphany in the last couple of weeks. My discovery: I have a voice, and I will use it. -It is OK to express anger in healthy ways, even if this means yelling. -Forced female to male submission is abusive. When a man yells at a woman and doesn’t “allow” her…
You deserve respect
This VW is in no rush to do or be anything but what it is: awesome. You do not deserve to be rushed. You deserve a right to your feelings. You don’t have to blindly say, “how high?” the second someone tells you to jump. This bit of wisdom coming to you from the formerly boundary-less girl…
The Alchemist 