• Story: Creepy Guy on Zzyzx Road

    Road sign for Zzyzx Road

    A couple weeks ago, I shared the first part of a story in my weekly Trauma Tip Tuesday newsletter. As promised, here’s the whole story. Enjoy!

  • Imperfection Makes Pies (and Life!) Sweeter

    Living on the Western Slope of Colorado, I’ve learned to mark the passage of time by what produce is available when. Tender asparagus in the spring. Cherries in mid-summer. Sweet corn in late summer. Apples in the fall . . … Read More

  • Put on Your Fancy Pants and DANCE!

    Fifteen years ago I had the great pleasure of leading a team of idealistic young AmeriCorps members in San Luis Obispo, California. We taught environmental education to middle and high school students, mostly through service projects, in-class presentations, and after-school … Read More

  • The Day Dad Retired His Boogie Board

    Ever since I was a little girl, my family would take an annual vacation to the California coast where relatives owned a beach house. One of my favorite all-time memories happened during one of those trips, not long after Mike … Read More

  • Goodbye Home, Hello Home

    What does it mean to leave the place you’ve lived longer than anywhere else? It means you’re leaving HOME. But . . . What does it mean to move back to the place where your parents and sister live, where … Read More

  • Are you David or Goliath?

    Malcolm Gladwell’s book, David and Goliath, makes the case that successful innovators and entrepreneurs often experienced childhood losses or traumas. Dr. Emil “Jay” Freireich, inventor of modern chemo treatments for cancer, and President Barack Obama both lost their fathers at … Read More

  • The Biggest March You Probably Never Heard About

    Ten years ago, my partner, Mike, and I traveled to Washington, D.C., for the largest march in American history. But you probably never even heard about it. More than 1 million women and men marched on the Capitol in support … Read More

  • The Payoff for Being Afraid

    Recently a friend asked me what the payoff is for my “Shame Shit Storms.” This is a painful and somewhat embarrassing question to answer. Here’s what I came up with . . . My shame allows me to: stay safely … Read More

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