Stories Told. Lives Changed.
Hours before my daughter’s 10th birthday I committed murder. Call me heartless, call me a bastard but since I don’t own a gun or crossbow–I did it with a hammer. Trust me, I didn’t want to do it. But, as life teaches, sometimes you have to do things you never thought you would do. I […]
This week’s publication is dedicated to my friend and fellow writer Deb Dauer, who recently passed away from complications caused by ALS. Although my time with Deb was brief, she taught me to live, to write with courage and spirit and that true happiness can only be found in the connections you make. Thank you […]
I turn 38 this week. And with official entrance into the late-thirties rodeo, I’ve finally gained enough confidence to admit –I’m lost. A few weeks ago at a party, I fell into a conversation with a young woman who recently graduated from college. A mutual friend introduce me as a “writer” and informed me that […]
They were still bagging up bodies at Stoneman Douglas High School when my 9 year old daughter told me her plan. “We would hide in the closet.” “Really? That’s all?” “Yes, teacher told us that if there is an intruder we are to hide in the closet and stay quiet.” I didn’t tell her that […]
If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.–Marcus Aurelius I saw my neurologist today. After reviewing a recent MRI of my brain, he informed me that the deterioration that plagued […]
This week marks two years of showing up, sitting down and writing–everyday. Some days I pumped out thousands of words. On others, I farted a few foul sentences and went about my day. But such is the writing life. When I first committed to writing, I held a secret position that green writers often hold– […]
Once you’re alive, can you ever really be dead? Candy Land is a personal narrative written by one of my students, Kayla Paterson. This story, Kayla intertwines the past and the present to explore the power of life, death memories, and board games. Meet the Writer Kayla Patterson is a 12th grade student at Robbinsville High […]
On Superbowl morning I went to Forest Hills Cemertary wearing my Eagles jersey. It’s February in Philadelphia and it’s cold and raining and my son is standing by my side and we’re looking down at the plaque marking the birth and death of my grandparents. Mike and Doreen. I tell them about how the Eagles […]
When I was a kid my dad use to carry me through the silver turnstiles that guarded the concrete spaceship known as Veterans Stadium so we could watch bad baseball, together. In the mid 1980’s the Phillies were a bad baseball team. So bad that if you went to the supermarket and bought an 8 […]
This week’s post is a slight detour from my month-long research and writing about chronic illness. Next week will be the final installment on chronic illness. Even though Dina, the girl who always wore sleeves, has been a student in my class since September, I really meet her for the first time last week on a […]