Proudly powered by WordPress.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Designed & built by Avenue Design Studios.
Here’s how disability pride works. I’ve been home now for over four months. That’s a significant accomplishment, one many people doubted I could manage. I think a lot of people expected me to just roll over and give up, to build something new instead of returning to claim my life of 20 years. But this […]
Content Note: Graphic descriptions of violence, sexual assault, brutal murder of a trans teen. Today, prosecutors in the trial of the murder and dismemberment of 14 year old trans girl Pauly Likens successfully added two charges – Involuntary Deviant Intercourse with a minor and a general homicide charge. Watkins had been previously charged with murder, […]
I was most likely born with a genetic predisposition to mental illness disability. My father has undiagnosed bipolar disorder, my mother unipolar depression. Most of the adults in my family used alcohol to self-medicate. My brother has ADHD which is very adjacent to bipolar. Disability. Disability. Disability. The neglect and abuse of my childhood created […]
Since spring 2013, I have been writing memorials for trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming (TGNC) neighbors whose lives have been lost to violence. The relentless persistence of this violence is akin to a terror campaign. While I’ve frequently shared the story of how I started doing this work, I’ve less often talked about “the work” […]
Last night, I met my mother in my dreams. She was living in a shabby chic bungalow with bright decorations and her beloved drapes gracing every window. Just as I arrived I saw her mother – my grandmother – pull out of the driveway in a practical blue sedan. I waved, but unsure if she […]
In acknowledgment of Disability Pride Month, a look back at previous posts. Most of my blogging about mental health began after 2010 when I was declared totally and completely disabled by the Federal Government. I immediately hit many walls of discrimination, bias, and ignorance on the part of other people. My response was to up […]
I enjoy the Generation X content across most platforms. It is funny, insightful, and nuanced. I was born in October 1970, so I am right in that solid Gen X era. The 70s were my childhood, the 80s my adolescence. Yes, I often drank water from a hose. Yes, my brother and I were left […]
This was my first holiday weekend at my home since the Fourth of July last year. I was living here over Easter, but spent that weekend cat sitting for friends. The death of our beloved cat companion Precious overshadowed everything so I have to take that into consideration. But I had no plans. Not good. […]
Anxiety has been my constant lifelong companion. When I was young, I didn’t have the language. I didn’t understand how these awful feelings were connected to my awful life experiences. I just internalized the anguish, transforming it to shame. I remember thinking our dog would be so lonely if we left her alone so I […]
So I never called my mother “Mama” – we called her “Mum” – but the title of this post is also the title of her favorite movie, a 1948 drama about a Norwegian-American family in the early 20th century. My mother loved this film in all its hazy hardworking glory. Her affection led me to […]
