Tag: child abuse

My Non-Television Mother and Me: The Interview

Richard DeFino

Read Part 1 here.  Part 2 of a 3 part series In an attempt to understand my mother a little better, I asked her a couple of questions that remained unanswered to myself. My mother has come so far in life, but she appears to be stuck. I want to Read more

Richard DeFino

Ricky De Fino grew up in New York City and currently resides in Buffalo NY. When he isn’t writing about his anxiety and his crazy Bronx upbringing, he enjoys watching countless hours of television with his wife Andrea, cat Bebe and dog Zeke. Two years sober, good coffee and veganism keeps him sane. His work can be found in Two Cities Review, tNY Press, Purple Pig Lit, Dialougal and Cycatrix Press.

Cutting Away the Pain *trigger warning*

Jazmine Ellington

“I would totally marry the lead singer. Dude is hot,” says Aimee. “I’d marry the lead guitarist. The lead singer is overrated,” I reply.Aimee gasps and says, “You take that back!”She starts tickling me. “Okay, okay! Stop! Haha.” I sit up and try to catch my breath. “Nope, still overrated!” Read more

Jazmine Ellington

Jazmine Ellington is a junior at Cleveland State University. She is studying English with a concentration in Creative Writing and pursuing a Bioethics certification. Jazmine also has work featured on Entropy Magazine.

Is Whole Foods CEO’s Loyalty to Alleged Sex Abuser a Disloyalty to $WFM Investors?

Nancy Levine

We’re living in a world in which the President-elect can brag in the most vulgar terms about groping women, and dismiss it as “locker-room talk.” One in five women in the U.S. has been the victim of attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Nearly one in two women have Read more

Nancy Levine

Nancy Levine is the author of the four-book series beginning with The Tao of Pug (Penguin) has just been released. She spent 30 years in corporate recruiting and human resources roles, starting at American Express Company. More recently, Nancy has devoted herself to advocacy efforts, working to eradicate child sexual abuse and amplifying the voices of survivors. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

An Open Letter to Whole Foods and Conscious Capitalism: Sexual Violence Accountability

Nancy Levine

Dear members of the boards of directors of Whole Foods Market and Conscious Capitalism, Inc.: How do we change the culture of sexual violence? Should conscious leaders hold each other accountable? We respect and admire Whole Foods CEO John Mackey’s commitment to the value of loyalty. As a founding board Read more

Nancy Levine

Nancy Levine is the author of the four-book series beginning with The Tao of Pug (Penguin) has just been released. She spent 30 years in corporate recruiting and human resources roles, starting at American Express Company. More recently, Nancy has devoted herself to advocacy efforts, working to eradicate child sexual abuse and amplifying the voices of survivors. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

An Open Letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez: Changing the Culture of Sexual Violence

Nancy Levine

Dear Secretary Perez, More than 27 million women shared their experiences of sexual assault, tweeting in the wake of Donald Trump’s “locker room talk.” The #NotOkay movement, initiated by social media maven Kelly Oxford, has crystallized around women’s stories of sexual violence. Secretary Perez, you are a scheduled keynote speaker Read more

Nancy Levine

Nancy Levine is the author of the four-book series beginning with The Tao of Pug (Penguin) has just been released. She spent 30 years in corporate recruiting and human resources roles, starting at American Express Company. More recently, Nancy has devoted herself to advocacy efforts, working to eradicate child sexual abuse and amplifying the voices of survivors. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Last Time I Saw Them

Jayme Beddingfield

My husband and I sat at our undersized dining room table across from an escrow agent in a mismatched room ragged at the corners from being both over a hundred years old and a rental home for thirty. The woman’s low voice skimmed over the stack of contracts one by Read more

Jayme Beddingfield

Jayme Beddingfield is the host and producer of 'Too Many Words' a comedy interview podcast. She is also the creator of 'Elliot Granger and The Clueless Brigade', which is a weekly serial that follows Elliot Granger as she stumbles through grief and growing up. The series is featured as both a fictional podcast and written story that appears on The Scribbler. Jayme has been crafting stories since her third-grade assignment to write her own fairy tale. She prefers to work from the sofa with her dogs by her feet. Originally from Northern New Jersey, she now lives in Seattle, the city of her dreams. She lives with her husband, two children, and a slew of adopted pets. She is completely post-apocalyptic obsessed and also admits to being an audio enthusiast and recovering supervillain.

Immigrant song: A Frenchman’s Moody Pipe Dream

Michel Bordeau

1976. I am 6 I have 2 mothers, 2 fathers, 3 sisters. Bernadette is my fairy godmother mom, my nanny during the day. She loves me like she loves her own children, Laure, Valérie, and Géraldine. I love them like I belong with them. They belong with me. We are Read more

Michel Bordeau

My name is Michel Bordeau, aka Area Frenchman. I am a Therapist and an Education Coach in private practice in Atlanta. Born in France, I have spent half my life in the US. I am culturally French and academically American, so you can safely assume that I know a thing or two about love (gender respectful, validating, unconditional, non-threatening) and the pleasures of life (many friends, much cheese, little w(h)ine). When I don't blog about mansplaining, teen assertiveness, guru shaming, toxic work environments and toxic people, motherhood, mindful parenting, immigrant entrepreneurs, bipolar disorder and body dysmorphic disorder, I dedicate my time speaking about the lessons I have learned as a therapist and a coach. I am the host of Le Kindness Couch on Youtube. I created this channel to demonstrate that today's therapeutic modalities are kind, validating, and solution-focused. We don't read mind or blame your mom for everything.

Always Sorry

H.M. Jones

Screaming so loud my voice breaks, only the fragile hear me, and they’ll be the next to break. Mommy’s sick and sorry and so sick of being sorry that anything to numb the rage seems a proper penalty, a gift to give you peace. Smacking my face, alcohol craze, cigarettes Read more

H.M. Jones

H.M. Jones is a mother, writer, teacher and poet. She is the author of Monochrome, the B.R.A.G Medallion dark fantasy about postpartum depression and the beauty of memories. Monochrome will be released,by Feminine Collective Publishing, marking the books third incarnation. Along with a few self-published poetry books, H.M.'s poetry will be featured in three different anthologies in 2015 and 2016. When she's not mothering, teaching, or writing, she is weaving, kickboxing, pulling in the canoe or reading.