This week my debut poetry book, “Pet: the Journey from Abuse to Recovery” comes out. The poetry sequence takes you through my experiences in an abusive relationship, my attempts to heal, my retrospective reflections on the relationship, and the larger-scale insights that came with long-term healing. To introduce it, I wanted to share with you this piece about what it took to write that book in the first place.
Tag: poverty
I Was My Boyfriend’s Servant: The Nightmare of Financial Abuse
A deeply personal story of how I survived emotional and financial abuse in a nightmarish form.
The Problem with Misrepresenting Oppression as Just Part of Life
When we undermine someone’s life-altering issue by framing it as something that everyone deals with, we dismiss the magnitude of the societal problems that contextualize bigotry, we disrespect marginalized people’s ability to assess their own problems, we discourage the pursuit of solutions for widespread unearned suffering, and we sign off on allowing that suffering to continue.
Adjusting to Social-Distancing & Other Lessons from Chronic Illness
I’d like to share some of my hard-earned lessons that have come from the last 5+ years of managing multiple chronic illnesses and a disability that have since proved incredibly useful during the pandemic.
How Physicians Can Be Better Mental Health Resources
Physicians can have a major impact on how we treat, understand, and confront our mental health. But, I’d like to offer that we, the patients, have much to teach physicians about approaching mental health care.
A Letter to My Local Government Regarding Covid19
I have written a letter to send to my local government representatives that outlines what I believe should be top priority concerns for our government to address regarding Covid19 on both a state and federal level.
It Can’t Be That Bad: How the Medical System Let Me Fall Through the Cracks
As more and more stories of medical neglect as a result of marginalization are brought to light, I hope that we can collectively reduce that disconnect and bring understanding and accommodation of marginalized backgrounds into our medical system, rather than using the medical system to further enforce their oppression. Maya Strong’s guest post today is one of those stories.
When Charity Masks Injustice: Thoughts from an Ex-Missionary
In today’s guest post Newbury Caulfield, who is now an ex-missionary, looks at how her relationship with her faith evolved over time and how that process was influenced by the sometimes oppressive mechanisms within missionary work.
Dear Me Ten Years Ago: Advice for My 20-year-old Self
About a month ago, I was dinking around twitter when I saw the hashtag #DearMeTenYearsAgo. Woah. Where was I 10 years ago? If I could say anything, what would I give as advice for my 20-year-old Self?
How Lizzo Helped Me Grow into “My Skin“
Clarity J is here to tell us just how much of an impact Lizzo and her music have had on her journey to wellness.