(Although you probably should.)
Over the past couple of years, I’ve been working to heal to a point where I’m comfortable sharing my story. Writing my first memoir helped that tremendously; now that my story has been written and subsequently read by complete strangers, it’s gotten easier, somehow, to verbally share my story in face-to-face interactions. While I don’t... Continue Reading →
It all begins with my story, one that began long before I could even speak…one that continues to haunt me to this day as additional memories surface. The thing I’ve learned about healing, though, is that I have to start with what happened to me, that way I can process my feelings and find a way to deeply understand that as much as I didn’t deserve what happened to me, I am also more than the sum of my traumas. And, in part, this is what happened to me.
I’ve been reading Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker, and yesterday, I read chapter six, “What is My Trauma Type?” As I was reading, I realized I’ve had different responses to different traumas, which completely blew my mind. For years, I’ve struggled identifying my “trauma type,” primarily because I believed an individual... Continue Reading →
Last Monday, I started reading Untamed by Glennon Doyle. Again. I read it last year when I was in a prolonged triggered-state by the investigation into my former teacher’s sexual misconduct—a gift from my bestie. I started reading it again last week because it was the only thing that made sense to me. And after... Continue Reading →
Whenever I read nonfiction, I have to keep a stack of flags nearby. I always find passages that I want to blog about, or quotes I want to remember, or articles for further reading I want to find online. Reading Missoula by Jon Krakauer was no different. I started this book August 8 and finished... Continue Reading →
As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve spent part of the pandemic taking classes online through Coursera. One of those courses is from Stanford University, taught by Anne Firth Murray. The class explores Women’s Health and Human Rights around the world, and one of our first assignments was to read the 1995 Beijing Declaration,... Continue Reading →
Have you ever started a book and been completely captivated from the very first page? Or even the first line? Have you ever started reading, and suddenly, you’ve read more than half the book in one sitting? I know it’s probably happened to many people from my generation. We grew up with the Harry Potter... Continue Reading →
I’m a work-from-home mother of toddlers, living barely above the poverty line in the American Midwest, and I can still advocate for the women and children in Afghanistan.
If you’ve been following my story for a while, you’re aware that I’m part of a group of former students who are working together to implement better procedures for vetting potential teachers—specifically teachers who have had sexual harassment and/or assault allegations brought against them by their students. (See an article about this by Emmy-winner Kara... Continue Reading →
don't ask Liv 
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