The Dreaded Un-informed Internet Diagnosis Syndrome
“That’s psychosomatic bullshit…hon,” a stranger writes to me. The forum message is forwarded to my email account while I’m away from home, so the first few words pop up on the screen of my smart phone while I’m…
The Graduation Speech I Almost Wasn’t Allowed to Make in 1980
When I graduated second in my high school class, all that hard work came with a particular privilege: I got to give one of the short but main speeches before my class and an…
Taking a Beat from My Obsession with Helping
I’m a naturally giving person. Giving and helping are second nature to me, enough so that I often take it too far. Giving Away Too Much I grew up being preached to about giving more…
If You Knew Where I’d Been
A lot of people, especially my much younger friends, see where I am in my life now and assume everything I have was handed to me or that it was easy. They have NO idea….
Seeing Clearly: Hidden Mental Illness in Men I’ve Loved
What’s done is done One more second chance would be enough Only on the brink can we see so clearly — “Nocturne, ” Tesseract How could I have been conscious on this planet for…
Turning Turbulence into Stepping Stones
Traditionally, the last few days of December, people look back over the calendar year and re-assess what happened and where they are. People look back and either check off moments of celebration or their evaluation…
10 Things I Learned over Dinner with an Ex-Boyfriend
I learned 10 things tonight over a two-hour dinner with an old boyfriend, and none of them had to do with the menu, music, or current events. This year, beginning with my birthday in March,…
Declaring Amnesty on the Past
The day before Thanksgiving, I’m driving down the road, running errands before my girls get home from college, and an epiphany hits me like a ton of bricks: I cut people I love out of…
The Curse of Attracting Broken People
Over the summer, I was listening to a shaman friend and a few of his closest followers complain about how they’d lost their desired closeness with friends, family, and lovers who had meant so much…
Demi Lovato, Child Suicide, and Early Relationships with Narcissists
When the news broke that Demi Lovato was suicidal at the age of 7, the comments tended to fall into one of two categories: 1. “She just wants attention. Lots of people are abused and suicidal…
