Why I Learned to Stay Quiet to Be “Good”
“Your silence will not protect you.” ~Audre Lorde When I was little, I learned that being “good” meant being quiet. Not just with my voice, but with my needs. My…
The Questions That Helped Me Reclaim My Life
“You can rewrite the story. You just have to pick up the pen.” ~Unknown I remember the exact moment I started disappearing. It was my wedding day. Just before I…
The Child I Lost and the Inner Child I’m Now Learning to Love
“Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion.” ~Jack Kornfield Her absence lingers in the stillness of early mornings, in the moments between tasks, in…
How I Learned to Treat Myself Like Someone I Love
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I built my life.” ~J.K. Rowling Most people who know me will say I am incredibly kind, loving, and empathetic. They know…
How I Got Free from the Trap of Resentment
“Jerry, there is some bad in the best of people and some good in the worst of people. Look for the good!” ~George Chaky, my grandfather I was seven when…
Pay What You Can for 21 Days of Laughs and Light
My electric toothbrush has seen it all. I usually look in the mirror when I’m brushing my teeth, and for a while last fall, I often cried when I stared…
I Spent Years Chasing Love Until I Finally Chose Myself
“The only people who get upset when you set boundaries are the ones who benefited from you having none.” ~Unknown For most of my life, I lived with a quiet…
The Lie of Packaged Healing and the Truth About Feeling
“Emotions are not problems to be solved. They are signals to be felt.” ~Vironika Tugaleva We’ve been taught to package our emotions like fast food—served quick, tidy, and with a…
The Hidden Link Between Self-Rejection and Social Anxiety
“True belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world. Our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” ~Brené Brown Last…