A case for context.
Long before I considered myself to be a person of faith, I was fascinated by religion. I wanted to understand this deep conviction that could motivate people to act in ways that demonstrate both the best and worst of human behavior.
Religion, sometimes the same religion could drive one person to unspeakable violence and evil, and another to literally put their life on the line for the sake of humanity.
I consumed books about religion. They ranged from Becoming Sister Wives (about Fundamentalist Mormons and plural marriage) to The Torn Veil, the true story of Gulshen Esther, a disabled Muslim…
It’s a difficult day for many people, for many reasons.
Some days I wonder if it was ever part of God’s eternal plan for me to be a mother. I question whether I pushed the issue, convinced for some bizarre, twisted reason that a baby would make things better.
I struggled to stay pregnant, with four heartbreaking loses (two very early) before my son was born. His issues started early, with failure to thrive and constant illnesses in his first year.
He had his first seizure shortly after he turned two, rapidly lost what speech he had developed and disappeared into himself. …
Now it happens even when I barely write, here’s how.
I know.
I hate ‘how I make X on Medium’ as much as you do. I guess that’s the point.
Unless you write a ‘viral on Medium’ (not just viral) article straight out of the blocks, Medium is going to leave you disappointed and discouraged. Because, for the vast majority of us, Medium is a game of the Tortoise and the Hare.
Slow and steady truly does win the race.
I started writing on Medium in October 2019. Within two weeks I was in, what was not so affectionately referred to as curation jail. …
That sounds awful and I hope your son can find the strength to get away. However in many cases the perpetrator does not have a mental health issue, they have an entitlement issue.
To say that domestic violence is gendered does not say that women cannot be perpetrators, they can. Often when they are, like in the case of your daughter in law, there is a serious mental health issue.
However in most cases it stems from a man's belief that he is entitled to power and control and that a woman is someone to be subdued and dominated.
The relentless agony of an estrangement neither of us want.
This time last year I published a tribute that I wrote for my only child on his 19th birthday. It was written through tears of grief, my agony of not seeing him spilling out onto the screen.
Since then I have written many articles about the struggle I have had, since, escaping a long term abusive relationship, to maintain a relationship with my only child, a stunning, young man with autism and a severe intellectual disability.
A young man who turned 20 a few weeks ago.
If you have been following my story you will know that I won the…
A year ago Medium changed the topic “Women” to “Feminism”. They are not the same thing.
Last night I published this piece about Ovarian Cancer. It was self-published and I did not expect it to be curated. This morning I noticed that it was and went on the obligatory search, thanks to Medium no longer telling us what topics our work has been distributed in, to find it. After not finding it in Health or Self I was surprised to find it in Feminism.
Ovarian Cancer is not a feminist issue, it’s a women’s issue.
Feminism is essentially a movement of people who are committed to social, economic, political and personal equality (not sameness) of the…
Perimenopause, Ovarian Cancer or something else?
I’ll never forget ‘Stacy’. Mid forties, two kids, a smile so radiant that you noticed it before the lack of hair and slightly sunken eyes. She was so grateful that she was able to access a lawyer to help get her affairs in order. A lawyer that she could not afford, who was provided for her through a program to help people like her.
As a volunteer for the Cancer Council’s pro bono lawyers scheme I have met, and I like to think in a small way helped, many people facing the harsh reality of cancer.
But no-one impacted me…
Many believe that the criminalization of coercive control is an overreach into private relationships — this is why they are wrong.
Trigger Warning: this article contains descriptions of sexual assault, abuse, and domestic violence that may not be suitable for all readers. Fearless community, please read with care.
It’s 5.32pm. I pull into the driveway and walk quickly to the front door. I’m late, I take a deep breath and brace myself. The reprieve is over, 14 hours until I can again drive away to the office, what I refer to in the privacy of my own mind as day release. Tomorrow is Friday.
I hate Fridays.
For years my real workday commenced when I got home from the office. Unlike…
I can’t believe it either.
Early last year I was sitting in my office and, just as I had many times before, took a bite of a protein bar. It tasted ghastly.
Don’t ask me why but I had another bite to make sure.
Within minutes the room was spinning, I quickly developed a raised red rash all over my body and my lips began to swell.
I was having an anaphalactic reaction.
Looking back I realize that the incredible human body has a built in defense mechanism. …
I’m about a third of the way, here’s what I’ve learnt so far.
In August last year I wrote one of those pieces that just comes out, start to finish in a few minutes. I pressed publish, was delighted when it was curated, and thought little more about it.
Until two weeks later when it really took off.
The story was about my 80th since I started writing on Medium about a year earlier. Until then my most popular stories made well under $100. …
