Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence, Humanity, Immigrant / 10.10.2018

Recently, I shared with a friend that I believe in magic, angels, compassion cures all hate, God speaks to me – regularly and most gently, and unicorns must smell like cotton candy. He didn’t laugh. He didn’t call the police with a 5150 (his Dad’s a former police chief so this term isn’t new to him). He didn’t even question me. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve been friends for over 33 years and you’re accepted: 100 percent, authentically, and genuinely loved for who you are. It feels good. It’s scary being us, allowing people into our world to discover...

Domestic Violence, Growing Up, Women / 15.02.2018

Damon and I give our children what I call “sandwich hugs”, holding them in-between our bodies while our arms encircle them resting upon one another’s shoulders or elbows locked in embrace. At one time, when our kids were smaller we could squeeze them warmly and tightly, their bodies suspended in mid-air, legs dangling off the ground, as the giggles cascaded off the walls. Being sandwiched between parents – as we do – is warm and comforting. The sandwich my parents created was far from inviting or nurturing.   "The darkness concealed the stress of being an immigrant, a foreigner who barely was...