Phoenix Rising: Thriving With Depression

She always asks how I am doing. I rattle off a few tidbits, mainly professional milestones or interesting people who I crossed paths with over the past week, simultaneously picking at fluff that does not exist on her couch. She probes again “How are you doing?”   I always reply “I told you Read more

Lithium, My Toxic Love Affair

***DISCLAIMER: The author of this piece is NOT encouraging ANYONE to go off of their prescribed psychiatric medicine. This is her story, her journey. Please remember that while enjoying her creative words. The glass inside the car felt cold and comforting as I pressed my damp cheek up against it, Read more

A Tale of Financial Abuse and How I Got Out

During fall of 2007, my marriage entered its final stages of a breakdown. It was just a matter of time, as the beginning of the marriage had been extremely rocky. I had been suffering from undiagnosed Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, and GAD, while he, on the other hand, had undiagnosed ADHD. Read more

I’m Fabulous (According to Supermodel Cheryl Tiegs)

When Cheryl Tiegs – yes, supermodel Cheryl Tiegs — gave me a hug and said that I looked fabulous in my new dress and polished makeup, well, that was something I never could have dreamed of as a trans kid spending their life hiding as a boy. I also couldn’t Read more

Smiling Away the Dark Prana

‘Dark Prana represents all of our habits and thoughts we have developed throughout our lifetime and it is always running in the background. They surface from time to time, often when we least expect them. We can be overcome by these thoughts and actions if we do not allow our Read more

The Tear

“Does your weakness show as your strength?” Rivka leans towards me from behind a scratched wooden desk in her office at Neve Yerushalayim Girls’ Seminary. The thin metal folding chair I’m sitting on creaks as I cross and uncross my nylon covered legs under my long blue skirt. It’s October, Read more