Memoir Category        

“The Wisdom of a Broken Heart”

Seeing that today is Valentine’s Day, I figured it would be a good idea to upload a book review on love and all its heartbreak. Susan Piver’s “The Wisdom of a Broken Heart” seemed to fit perfectly into this theme.   Read more….. »

Coming to terms with past relationships

If the past can teach you anything, there is no better lesson plan than to search through the wreckage of your romantic past.   Read more….. »

Dealing with the past

Lately, I’ve been talking to people about this idea of dealing with the past. For me, the topic is coming up a lot because in the last few months, my writing has gravitated towards memoir. I’m surprised how charged the subject of the past is for some people.   Read more….. »

Seeing humanity

It’s easy to forget the humanity of the people around me, how interconnected I am to everyone I encounter. Mind you, it’s not intentional. But at times, when I am absorbed in my own agenda and plans, thinking whatever it is on my mind is paramount, then the people who surround me become incidental. It’s not intentional meanness on my part. But I seem to forget about   Read more….. »

“Why Good People do Bad Things”

Scandals are full of them. Gossip tries to root them out. There are so many stories of good people going bad it is almost a stereotype. It’s as old as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, if not older. Even so, it can still be a shocker to someone when a person of honor suddenly falls into some trap of vice. Maybe even more so if that someone is one’s self.   Read more….. »

How to deal with anniversaries of tragic loss

Dealing with loss is difficult. I know this from my own life. The stress from the impact was tremendous, and to say it altered my perspective on life would be an understatement. So, when it comes to anniversaries of tragedies, I speak mostly from my own experience with the subject.   Read more….. »

“The Grieving Teen”

Experiencing the death of someone is always a tough time in a person’s life. Teenagers, oft touted as thinking they are invincible, and unshaped by life, have special struggles that tend to be overlooked, written off as adolescent angst. But death does have an impact on this cohort. With the twin tragedies of September 11 and the overseas wars on top of all the other circumstances of death, this issue seems timely and relevant. Author Helen Fitzgerald has written “The Grieving Teen”, which is a handbook for both grieving teens and those who are concerned about them.
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“A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius”

Grief is supposed to come in a neat package. You can’t believe something bad happened to you, you get ticked off, you wail at God to change things so they go back to normal, they don’t so you get sad, really sad, and when the sadness gets too boring you get over it and then it’s all good. Or at least, the so-called five stages of grief give the deceptive illusion it goes so smoothly.   Read more….. »