I was thinking the other day how many levels of poverty there really are ( Read more... )

I found out shortly after the new year that I have been awarded disability by the Social Security Administration. (SSDI) I wanted to sit with my feelings about that before announcing it. It's been a struggle to get through the process and the appeals. It's been humiliating documenting how impaired I am and in how many ways. It's insulting to be ( Read more... )

2014 has left me depressed, disheartened and exhausted. More than ready for a new year. I wish you all a happier year in 2015 ( Read more... )

Thinking about this story today and my Great-grandpa, George Lee Elschlager ( Read more... )

My godmother, Grace, requested this to be read at her funeral ( Read more... )

I was thinking the other day about how quick I am to correct someone when they talk smack about a group of people I am not a member of. Yet I didn't correct a former friend for years as she made one ableist and fat phobic comment after another because my self esteem was affected by my depression and illness and I was afraid to lose her friendship. ( Read more... )

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If I'd known this back when I had children in an abusive marriage I'd have left sooner ( Read more... )

"No one is ever free until they tell the truth about themselves and the life into which they've been cast. Write it down; tell it to a friend in need, or a stranger who needs diversion. We are all here to be a witness to something, to be of some aid and direction to other people."--Tennessee Williams/Interview with James Grissom/1982/

On Deciding What Counts: Elizabeth Ellen and What Makes A VictimMallory Ortberg responds to a victim-blaming essay by Elizabeth Ellen regarding two recent stories of rape and statutory rape in the literary community. (see http://gawker. ( Read more... )