A Young Woman’s Story of Fighting Breast Cancer and the So-Called Healthcare System Courtney comes in to see me eight weeks after having a double mastectomy. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in August of 2017. Courtney is thirty-two years old and is in graduate school for a specialized degree in education. Her intention … Continue reading “IT’S IN MY BONES”
White Woman Boots
It was August 12th, and I was driving through the desert to the Paiute-Shoshone Reservation in Fallon, Nevada, to see a family who had been ordered to receive family therapy by the county child protective services agency. It seemed fitting to be driving in the desert where the temperatures soared above 100 degrees, and the … Continue reading White Woman Boots
The Looking Glass Lies: A Story of Deprivation and Hunger
The ghost of past demons lie dormant just beneath my skin just where the light dances on the crest of bone and can be awakened when the shame is triggered around not being good enough or not really having a place in this world or not being of any use.
Who the F**k do I think I am?
Lozado and Fish, the other boy, newly out of prison, are preparing to make chicken. The mother in me arises and the therapist leaves my body. I notice the fouled sponges and dish scrubbers sitting by the sink. "Those will kill you," I tell them.
The Good Enough Mother
We don't talk often enough about the secret we keep so well hidden that we aren't sure we can really make it through mothering and that we hate it so much sometimes that we want to just run and run, far away into the shadows of the badlands where she can ride motorcycles, wear leather, swear, spit and not wear underwear.
