Category: Emotional Health
THE LOST BROTHER: part 3
In June, I called Mimi for her birthday. In a delighted voice, she told me that Mom had tied balloons to the mailbox that said, “Happy Birthday, Mimi.” She sounded like a child instead of an adult turning twenty-seven. My heart constricted with pity. I didn’t know how to respond. Read more
Braces, Abortion, and Oprah
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
Feigning Joy
I lift heavy hair off my neck and let the breeze diverge and collapse on my shoulders like cornsilk. The sky is still blue and the clouds hang migrating where the wind blows and I tell myself to see the beauty in this moment even if its wrenching my heart Read more
Keeping Girls’ Hands Down
I stopped being a child at the age of ten. The age when I learned that my armpits, like my intimate parts, must be hidden from the public eye. But of course, my armpits are much more inconvenient to hide, especially in a tropical country. I remember each moment I Read more
The Internet Swallowed Me
The internet swallowed me Began innocently enough many years ago. Excitedly anticipating those three words: You’ve got mail Here I am years later fully devoured Be it on phone, laptop or the not so social media, The internet’s brazen child. Floating amongst texts looking for syntax Relationship born and not Read more
The Other Side
…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
Little Losses
They told me grief comes in waves. I expected an ebb and flow, not placid waters interrupted by a tsunami. Every once in a while, I forget about the losses. I forget that I’m no longer pregnant, or that I can’t call my parents’ landline to speak with my dad. Read more