The Street Artist
I grew up on a large council estate with high-rise flats as far as the eye could see. It was full of crime, poverty, and drug addicts...
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Aug 1, 20199 min read
Exhale and RecoverÂ
If you didn’t know, The Troubles refer to a nasty civil dispute that spanned over 30 years between the British and Irish...
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Jul 16, 20197 min read
Woman Within
My father, a labor union leader who was tangled up in domestic politics, married at the young age of 17. But how could he not?...
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Jun 25, 20198 min read
I Fear No Evil
The seeds of generosity and good will that my parents instilled in me were certainly part of what sparked my interest in becoming a nurse...
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Jun 24, 20197 min read
An Innate Survival
Growing up in the 1980s, we spent our days running off with neighborhood friends, only returning home when the hum of the streetlights ...
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Jun 18, 20197 min read
At the Foot of the Mountain
I couldn’t focus in school and started flunking my classes. Then, I started hanging out with the wrong crowd, which is where I met Sammy...
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Jun 5, 20197 min read
As Crazy as It Was
I can’t remember a time my parents got along. I don’t remember laughing around a kitchen table or a single family-film night...
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May 30, 20196 min read
A Life Not Lost
My father was registered as a sex offender. Over time, my father lost all rights to see me, while my mother’s supervised visits were...
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May 15, 20197 min read
Breaking Free
As a little girl, I observed the life of my mother and vowed to be different. Better. More intentional. I promised myself that I would...
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May 11, 20197 min read
Because You Never Know
I grew up watching over my shoulder and trying to keep the peace in our home. Though I breathed the air of misfortune, it did not affect...
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May 6, 20198 min read
I Don’t Belong Here
The sun came out not long after I was born on a chilly morning in August of 1987 in the heart of Transylvania, Romania. In the black...
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May 2, 20195 min read
A Freedom Worth Sharing
Emotions—my mother’s, specifically—ran our household. If Mom was upset, everyone’s emotional state shifted. My sisters and I walked on...
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Apr 19, 20198 min read
It’s All Possible
Sadly, every beautiful story is entangled with a monster. The monsters that haunted my life and broke my sweet laughter were violators...
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Apr 12, 20197 min read
Until the End
I grew up making mud pies and racing as fast as my little legs could take me on my metal-footed pedal car. That’s what my early life...
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Apr 5, 20197 min read
No More Pain
When my father was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2006, I remember an overwhelming feeling of relief. Relief. Who does that?...
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Mar 19, 20198 min read
The Recovering Serial Monogamist
It was odd to me how my mother married a man who didn’t seem to understand either one of us. Our passion, empathy, and sensitivity...
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Mar 14, 20197 min read
The Scars Tell My Story
But then…it was all over, and they divorced when I was just three years old. My dad moved on to yet another young gorgeous woman...
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Feb 27, 20196 min read
Words That Heal
I, conversely, was born with a creative mind and a depressive disorder that manifested in some of the worst and weirdest ways. My talent...
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Feb 11, 20197 min read
The Last Time
Lying in a steaming bath-tub, water lapped against my naked body. The pressure of the clear liquid surrounding me made the bruises on my...
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Jan 28, 20197 min read
Let It Be
My dad was always in my peripheral vision, but as a busy musician, he never really stayed long enough for me or my older sister to get...
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