Humanity: Raw & Unfiltered
On August 1, 1944, at 5 p.m., “W-hour” began in Warsaw, Poland. Taken from the Polish word wybuch, meaning “explosion,” W-hour was the start of the Warsaw Uprising, an underground resistance’s attempt to expel Nazi forces from the city. Horrific spoiler: despite its meticulous planning and herculean effort, the Warsaw Read more
The story of a West Virginia girl who missed her moment, survived the silence, and found her smile. Trigger Warning:This essay contains references to childhood sexual abuse, reproductive health, and survival. Please take care while reading. At 50 years old, I got braces. To reshape something as simple — and Read more
…burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge. In another moment, down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again. I am sitting Read more
like a basketball so high with every toss like a doll they throw (but scorn to hold or cuddle) up goes the baby girl laughing first then screaming up up again almost to the ceiling they feel their strength the power of deciding whether to play the hero to find Read more
On a blank wall a purple line rises and falls as the painter walks alone, can in hand, heart fast, breath shallow, hopes high. The line will soon disappear at the hand of another painter, hired to cover this expression of joy, as it will be thought of by the Read more
Survive; Survivor; Survived. What does it mean? Is it what they survived? Or what we survived? What I survived? That’s definable – the ‘what’; Danger, violence, terror. The suffocating distress of it. But what does surviving look like? Is it still being alive? Is it still carrying on? Is it Read more
I. James Edward the Third entered the world like a limp bruise—purple against the sterile room—in a silence that hurt my ears from straining, stretching and stretching, taking with it his brain cells and future. Some of you will know what I mean. I’m sorry for that. The only thing Read more
It’s a Tuesday evening, and I’ve just returned from therapy. I pour a glass of wine before gathering the ingredients for dinner: six shallots, garlic, half a can of tomato paste, anchovies, and pasta. Outside, my neighbor who lives in the building behind mine pulls into the shared parking lot. Read more