How to become a feminist horror writer
It’s the early 90’s. You watch “Gremlins” at a sleepover at your best friend’s house. You love sleepovers; you secretly pray you’ll never have to go home. Your friend and her parents chuckle at...
A good sport
Don’t mean to brag, but I am a triathlete of some repute. My #metoo moment happened on one of my first races as part of an Australian team, competing overseas in a Honolulu World...
Ghost Weeds (Reclamation)
The screen door swung shut with a muffled wooden bang, and darkness opened up behind me. The well-lit inside world disappeared as I turned toward the uncertain night and made a quick calculation. I...
A legacy of abuse: Telling on my brother
A deathbed confession, 1997 Mom unburdens herself only weeks before she dies. She tells me about Mike’s abuse against his children. Her revelations confirm what I’ve known since childhood: My brother Mike is dangerous....
Thelma & Louise film stays relevant after 30 years
Thirty years on and the film Thelma & Louise is unique even among an ever-increasing canon of woman-led films. Yes, today we have so many more films in which women are powerful and supposedly...
When Mom stood by
Detecting abusers is a complex problem. Who is the real villain in the story? As a survivor of childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, I thought I had it all figured out. I knew...
What needs to be said
What needs to be said that you haven’t yet talked about?” the woman from hospice looked at me. I suspected I knew but remained silent. My mother, a child of the Depression and a cigarette...
Essays in search of identity after cult, abuse
Part memoir, part essay collection, Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing is a fearless book.
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The acknowledgement
I’m trying to be gentle with myself, but what if I never believe my body when it tells me what happened?
Have the time of your life!*
*Common side effects may include but are not limited to: harassment, stalking, getting drugged, passing out in...
To the fathers who do not abuse their daughters
On my street I am witness to the young men who carry the pink-flowered backpacks of little girls, who...
