Life After Abuse: An Open Letter to My Friend on Healing from Abuse

I originally wrote this letter for a dear friend of mine about the process of healing from trauma and life after abuse, in 2018. The blog that published it has sadly gone dark since then. I wanted to make sure that this piece could still be enjoyed and potentially shared with your own close friends if they’ve been through something similar.

Resistance to Conformity: Balancing Authenticity with Community

I’d like you to please welcome a new writer on the Yopp platform, Eleni Stephanides! She’s here to talk about the complexities of conformity: the damage it can do, and the benefits it can yield when used well. 

Poetry & Trauma: It Is Hard to Write with a Broken Heart

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. 

I Think My Friend is Being Abused. What Now?

Being able to recognize that you are being abused, while the abuse is still happening, is mind-bogglingly difficult. I say mind-boggling because even though dozens of people trying to tell me that my relationship was abusive was completely ineffective for me, it’s still my first instinct when someone’s partner exhibits abusive behaviors to just try to tell them that. I know that this extremely straightforward tactic doesn’t work, but what other choice do I have? This article explores that question.

A Gay Man’s Guide To Life: An Interview with Britt East

Dennis Upkins gives us this awesome interview with Britt East in which they discuss everything from his book, A Gay Man’s Guide To Life, activism, his new podcast Not Going Quietly, personal development and so much more.

Hanging Out with Your Autistic Friends: A Guide to Social Inclusivity

If you have any autistic friends, there might be a chance that they’re not always as eager to hang out. Or maybe they do want to hang out but it seems like they always want to leave early. In this post, I’ll discuss what challenges your autistic friend is likely facing and what you can do to make hanging out fun and accessible for both of you.