Tag: aging

In a Laundry Room on Virgin Gorda

Jennifer M. Smith

I was on Virgin Gorda, ashore at 8:00 a.m. doing my last loads of laundry before the trip south. Out of the wash and into the dryers, I was waiting to start folding. In came the cleaning lady, an older black woman, local, probably in her late sixties. “Good morning,” Read more

Jennifer M. Smith

Jennifer M. Smith is an author and an adventurer. Together with her husband, she has sailed over 40,000 miles around the world on their sailboat Green Ghost and she has plenty of stories to tell. She is working on a book about her ocean voyages but she is frequently distracted by other creative non-fiction short stories and micro-fiction stories that pop into her head and make a lot of noise until they are released through her pen or her keyboard.

Kaleidoscope Vision

Arlene Antoinette

look at me as if through the lens of a broken Kaleidoscope and you will see a new kind of woman living outside your limited notion of a well adjusted female i am a husbandless childless menopausal caregiver a keeper of faded dreams an overweight non exercising lump of aging Read more

Arlene Antoinette

Arlene Antoinette is a novice poet/lyricist with dreams of one day writing a piece that breaks hearts. She holds an old outdated bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in psychology. You may find additional poems by Arlene Antoinette in SickLitMagazine and Girlsense and Nonsense.

Secret Life of Nimu

Suman Rathore Shah

A story of grief, healing and hope. The essay traces a woman’s trip to her hometown after the death of her husband. The traditions that aid the process of grieving and a daughter’s realization about her mother’s resilience and watching her claim herself back. “She has a pacemaker; you cannot Read more

Suman Rathore Shah

About the Author – Suman’s first love as a child was photography and the classics. Encouraged to write at a young age, she’s been previously published in print in the Newport Life Magazine, Times of India, and Mid-Day. After almost 20 years in the advertising and publishing industry she’s going back to her first loves, writing and photography. As an evolving writer, she’s been honing her skills at Grub Street, Boston. Growing up bi-coastal in India, she never really put down roots until she landed in Boston almost 18 years ago. Now she lives bi-continental, and Boston is her karma bhumi, the place where she does her life’s work. She chronicles her stories on her blog, www.forkonaroad.com where she writes about all things that nourish life.

Day 356: A Love Letter to My 30’s

Amye Archer

You were the decade that made me a wife. Again. A better wife this time. This time I knew better than to throw the dishes against the wall. This time I knew better than to demand answers, honesty, attention. This time I knew what a good man looked like. He Read more

Amye Archer

Amye Archer holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction. Her memoir, Fat Girl, Skinny, was named runner-up for the Red Hen Press Nonfiction Manuscript Award, and has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She has two poetry collections: BANGS and A Shotgun Life, both published by Big Table Publishing. Amye’s work has appeared in Brevity, Creative Nonfiction, Hippocampus, Mothers Always Write, Nailed Magazine, PMS: Poem Memoir Story, PANK, and Provincetown Arts. She is the creator of The Fat Girl Blog.

The Time I Tried Botox

Stephanie Harper

I think of all the women I admire most in my life, the ones who smile to expose years of laughter at the corners of their eyes or the sides of their mouths and I find so much beauty in that. So much grace in the lines of their foreheads, or the way a strong neck can still look so ready to shoulder so many burdens, even as the skin has begun to thin and sag just the slightest. There is something exquisite in the thin wisps of silver in my mother’s hair. The strands are so clearly defined, I can almost count them individually, as though I know how she earned every one.

Stephanie Harper

Stephanie Harper received her Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Fairfield University with an emphasis in fiction. Her work can be found in The Huffington Post, HelloGiggles, HerStories, The Montreal Review, Poetry Quarterly, Midwest Literary Magazine, Haiku Journal, and Spry Literary Journal. She lives in Denver, CO.

My Father’s Advocate: Aging Parents and the Impact of Positive Medical Planning

Renee DeMont

“What I’m saying is, you could drop dead at any moment.” Blunt, direct and impatient, my father’s cardiologist meant what he said. Didn’t even flinch. “So what you are saying is, my father’s heart has weakened since the last MRI six months ago?” “Yes. One side is overcompensating for the Read more

Renee DeMont

Renee DeMont is a SURVIVOR. She was born into poverty; spent much of her childhood homeless, living on the streets of Los Angeles, and in foster care. Renee learned early on: life is about adapting to adversity. The greatest gift she ever received? No one expected anything from her. By 18, she was ready to experience life on her own terms. First one in her family to attend college. After college, her focus and determination earned her a spot working at Paramount Studios, on the #1 show in television, "Cheers". At 29, Renee gave entrepreneurship a go and began a Biomedical engineering business out of her garage. Twenty years later, that risky venture grew into 8,000 square feet of success. She broke the cycle of poverty that plagued her family for generations. Recently, Renee turned fifty, filed for divorce (he declared WAR), and trudged through a debilitating nervous breakdown. Through therapy and writing, she reclaimed her sanity. Sold her half of the business to the ex, and now she has clarity and choices. Renee is personally and financially independent. With her new found freedom, she chooses to write in a sincere effort to reconcile her past with her present. Hopefully, through this cathartic process, the second half of her life will be led by her soul's desire, rather than by the fears and doubts of her first half. Currently, she lives in South Orange County with her teenage son and daughter, and her high maintenance yet lovable dog, Joe. Soon to be an empty nester, she plans to downsize the big house in the OC bubble, for a bigger life in the real world. Her days are spent gently launching her almost grown children into adulthood, and passionately penning her memoir. In the mean time, you can find her essays on pain, positivity, and empowerment at: onedropofgrace.blogspot.com

You. There. Now.

Jane Harrington

They pause long enough to kiss under a tree whose limbs are bursting with grandchildren.

Jane Harrington

Jane Harrington lives in southern Appalachia and teaches at Washington & Lee University. She has written best-selling books for young adults (Scholastic, Lerner), and her literary prose has been published in anthologies and journals, including Chautauqua, Anthology of Appalachian Writers, Circa, Portland Review and Eastern Iowa Review. Jane is a fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA). You can find links to some of her published work at www.janeharrington.com

Daddy, Dementia and Letting Go

Minae Noji

“Celebrate more in life, even the little things. I didn’t do that enough.” —Herman Soichi Noji When I think about my father’s journey at the end of his life, the word that comes up is MAGIC. There were days in which his dementia took full force, and the nurses would Read more

Minae Noji

Minae Noji is a writer, actress, voice-over Empress and rat enthusiast. She makes her home in Los Angeles and is devoted to empowerment, wholeheartedness, and studly ninjas.