This story is about a series of childhood experiences that, until March 2012, I’d long dismissed as not that relevant to my life. Not long after I was born, I was catheterized for a suspected urinary tract infection (UTI). That post-birth infection was the first of what turned into a long chain of unrelenting UTI’s and […]
For months, I’ve been ignoring an urge to start writing again because the thing I want to write about is extremely personal, even for me. So I repeatedly reminded myself that in this case, the personal is political. If I can turn this struggle into something of use to other women despairing alone and in silence, then the suffering […]
On June 26th, 2010 my family and I walked 18 miles in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk in Boston. A year later, I see that aspects of that experience planted the seeds of chutzpah that helped me launch this blog a few months ago. The following story is a piece […]
There’s a smart, funny, and dynamic woman who follows my blog. We knew each other only as loose acquaintances before I launched this blog. But now I deeply know her, because she trusts me with her truths, which she shares by email. One of her secrets is that, unbeknownst to most around her, she struggles tremendously […]
I’ve made it to Day 22 of a grueling food elimination diet to see if allergic foods may be contributing to my health issues. The health yields have been imperceptible to non-existent. But I remain curious enough to keep going. The experience hasn’t been without silver linings, like learning how to cook fish (the only allowable […]
Before launching this blog, I wrestled with how this brazenly personal blog would reflect on me professionally, and what it would mean for my business, Cloud 9 Organize & Redesign. My small business is an intimate one. I spend hours at a time huddled with my clients in crowded closets and basements and bedrooms, touching […]
When I envision my favorite future, it mirrors one of the happiest elements of my younger years: abundant, always-available connection with people I love. For the first eighteen years of my life, I was surrounded by a big family, an inseparable best friend, a boyfriend of the year, and my ample girl posses. Unfortunately, mid-life […]
As a teenager, I was one of those student-athlete-volunteer-homecoming queen-class president types from a waspy suburban Philadelphia high school, who shipped off to an Ivy League college with a forecast for a bright future. (In the photo above I’m giving my high school graduation speech.) Soon after starting college, despite being in the best shape […]
Gutsy Beautiful Complicated 