We’ve talked about my love for stories — specifically biographies and memoirs. About how one of the things that helps me to survive the hard parts of life is knowing that other people have survived the hard parts of theirs. It gives me hope. But there’s also more than a story… I’m currently more than […]

“Get over it.”   That’s one of the most painful phrases someone who has been through abuse or trauma can hear. “Move on.” Or “Why can’t you just forget about it?” also qualify. Why? Because it’s bad enough to have to go through hurt without being told that your hurt was insignificant. So, why can’t […]

I woke up with a plan today, and that plan was to go to the grocery store to get the stuff to make lasagna (which I was craving). In my experience, the best place to get gluten-free lasagna noodles in my part of town is Thriftway. A little spendier than I prefer. But I had […]

A couple of years ago, I attended a funeral with a girlfriend. I didn’t know the lady who had passed away, but my girlfriend didn’t want to attend the funeral alone, and so I found myself at the funeral of a total stranger. For hours, I sat and listened to stories of this woman who sounded […]

From the beginning, I’ve made it a policy to be real here. So for the sake of full disclosure, for the last several days, I’ve been struggling under symptoms related to PTSD. Specifically, I’ve been in fight-or-flight, which has made me by turns panicked and exhausted. In layman’s terms, I’ve been a hot mess. (But […]

  Those of you who have hung around this neighborhood for a few years know that a few years ago, I went through a dark time. Actually, I kinda sorta had a breakdown. We’ve talked about this here. But in case you need a refresher, I ran into someone who had abused me many years ago. […]

Several years ago, I had a conversation with a friend about what we each prefer to read. I love a lot of different types of books, but I do have a special place in my heart for biographies and memoirs. I told my friend, and gave some examples of the stories that have most touched […]

I’d like to announce our next book discussion, but I have to start with a flashback. Sorta. Jason and I have been doing these book discussions for more than six years now. It all started with Mad Cow Disease. Okay, actually, it was Mad Church Disease. But that was where we started, and we’ve kind of […]

This week, we’re finishing up our discussion on Jerry Bridges’ book, “The Discipline of Grace,” by talking about being in training. Well, in all fairness, my co-facilitator and the others may opt to talk about something else from the chapter, but this is the part that jumped off the page at me, so let’s go […]