Letting Go of the Illusions
Names have been changed. My father died when I was 12, after years of fighting cancer. Toward the end, when he was very sick, I wanted to give him all my love. It was easier to do that by shutting out things he’d done to my mom in earlier years. Admitting the truth even to […]
Read More
Big Lies and Great Expectations
I stared at the large 64 circled in red at the top of my test: one point from passing. I folded the paper in half and hurried out of class, too embarrassed to look my teacher in the eye. This was the third time in a row I had failed a test. “How did you […]
Read More
I Do Better Accepting My Depression Than Fighting It
As a child, I flamed with creative energy and pleasure in connecting with humans or animals. My 2nd grade teacher told me I would be a great writer one day. My elementary art teacher encouraged me to create an odd mystical creature statue, and draw a picture book which I titled Two Sister Seals. It […]
Read More
Living in Shelter
Before I went into the shelter system, I was confident. I wanted to try new things and I was very loud. No matter what I was saying, I had to be loud about it. “THERE’S THE ICE CREAM TRUCK! CAN WE GET ICE CREAM PLEASE?” I was 9 years old and in 4th grade when […]
Read More