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Why ‘Survivor’ Isn’t the End Goal
I spent years being proud of calling myself a survivor. It felt like an upgrade from victim—like I’d graduated from something shameful to something admirable. Society certainly treated it that way. People celebrated my survival stories with the same enthusiasm they’d show for a war hero returning home. “You’re so strong!” they’d say when I…
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How Dinosaur Toys Taught Me About Generational Trauma
From pink dresses to court battles: the moment I realized protecting my child meant losing my family My stomach dropped as I watched my mother take away dinosaur toys from my daughter, deeming them “too boyish.” The look, the tone, the manipulation—it was all too familiar from my own childhood. In that moment, I understood…
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The Evolution of a Title: Why “Mission: Hurry Up and Wait” Better Tells My Story
When you’re writing a memoir, sometimes the story teaches you what it’s really about. The Original Vision Six months ago, I was certain my memoir would be called Songs of Silence: Growing Up in a Story Not My Own. It felt right at the time. I was thinking about the Keeper – my controlling mother…
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Unmasking the Illusion of Obedience
The tower rose like a hymn from the earth—layer upon layer of carved stone, every arch a promise of safety, every balcony a whispered blessing. But step back two paces and the blessing curdles. There at the tower’s feet coils an unbroken wall of basalt, as if the tower were a prized relic to be…
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What would you name the people in your life?
I never called her “Mom” in my story. She became “The Keeper” because she kept the rules, the keys, and the silence. Have you ever given someone in your life a secret name? A nickname that captured more than what they answered to? Sometimes these symbolic names hold power for us rather than giving power…