Dear Mother: A Letter
There are certain days and times that are virtually guaranteed to bring about complicated, confusing, and contradictory emotions for many. Without fail, Mother’s Day is one of them. A day that was created to honor the unsung heroism of everyday mothering has deeper implications for those with difficult mother-child relationships. Parents who are unable…
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5 Things to Know Before the Holidays
Here we go again, heading into another holiday season marked with all the usual unknowns – and then some. This is the time of year where many of us have to take a deep breath, mentally prepare for days and weeks of gaslighting and guilt trips, and practice our frozen-smile gray rock faces. We try…
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A Covid Thanksgiving
What a strange, strange year this has been. Who could have imagined that as we prepare for what is typically the most traveled-for holiday in the United States, we would be more focused on setting up Zoom calls and washing our masks than making a connecting flight? And who knew that for some of…
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With gratitude: Finding peace in a pandemic
Today is the day we celebrate, remember, and honor those who have died in combat while serving in the American armed forces. The long weekend is also usually synonymous with cookouts, beach trips, and spending time with friends and family. Things look a little different this year, for most of us. Nearly three months…
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The Gravity of Grief
I have written before about the ways that loss – whether expected or not – can make the world feel like a foreign place. Navigating life in the wake of a loss is like learning to walk all over again on an unfamiliar surface. Sometimes that challenge of learning to walk on the moon becomes…
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Accepting the unacceptable
Watching the news the last couple of weeks has been like watching an extra-long episode of Black Mirror. Every day has brought new information, sweeping changes to our daily lives, and new waves of uncertainty. From “wash your hands” to “all non-life-sustaining business must close,” we’ve come face to face with the unthinkable in the…
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Finding Connection
Public service announcement: It is normal to long for connection. Take another look at that last sentence: It is normal to long for connection. Healthy, even. Foundational to what it means to be human. And also, a profoundly painful longing when it goes unfulfilled. I am often inspired to write about themes…
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Recognizing Gaslighting: 5 Common Phrases
Of all the tactics in the narcissistic abuse playbook, gaslighting has to be one of the most effective. It can be used against unwitting victims in a wide range of relationships, settings, and specific situations. It is hard to call out, because the very nature of the beast is to confuse and disorient victims. The…
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Show Yourself: A Journey to Self-Love
Last week, I told you about my big adventure of 2019: writing a book. Completing The Gaslighting Recovery Workbook has been an amazing, intense, and sometimes overwhelming process. A few days ago, I went on an adventure of another sort: taking two 4-year-olds to see Frozen 2. (If you don’t think that was an adventure,…
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