Biological coincidence is no basis for lifelong relationships. My father died when I was 24 years old; my mother followed four years after. My mom’s death, in particular, left me emotionally unanchored. I had not yet started my own family and my messy, complicated relationship with her had been my center. As the youngest of […]
You’re a worthy human being who doesn’t deserve to have their blood drained by Grandpa. And if you’re sick of that shit, here’s what you can do about it. (Trigger Warning: Mentions of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse) So there’s a book from R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series called Vampire Breath. In it, two siblings wander into their basement, somehow […]
I had been waiting my whole life to meet this man, and I knew with absolute certainty that I wanted to have him as a part of my daily life forever. Genetic Sexual Attraction (GSA). There wasn’t a word for it back when I first met my father, Jackson. Until very recently, memories of our […]
In many ways, my mother’s failure to protect me was much worse than my brother raping me. Trigger warning for rape. In a lifetime of moments, most are quickly forgotten. Only a tiny number are retained, and most of these are filed away in our mind, reminiscences that can be pulled out or put away […]
This originally appeared on Mamamia. Republished here with permission. In those places where moms and strollers rule, he is sometimes seen as strange, even dangerous. But when you hurry your children out of his way, you are sending a message to him and to all of our children that all men can not be trusted. Dear People […]
The fear of causing pain is not a reason to stay in someone’s life. It is a reason to run. Divorcing my mother is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Even though we had been mostly estranged for four years, the decision to end contact with her was difficult, and it […]
Seventeen years later, I finally have the courage to say, “I am a sexual abuse survivor,” and I need to heal myself. Trigger warning: This piece contains details about rape, sexual assault, and violence. The National Crime Victimization Survey recently revealed that 38% of victims of rape and sexual violence were men. Since men are often silent […]
This originally appeared on I Am Undergrounded. Republished here with permission. If one thing has always been clear to me, even when everything else in my life was a chaotic blur, it’s this: It takes a village to harm a child. My mother is sitting across from me warming her hands with a cup of tea […]
