The phone rang. It was early in the morning on April 5th, 2004. I was on Highway 1 headed to Watsonville to return shorts to Target before church. I’d been working a hospital contract in Santa Cruz for several weeks. I remember it like it was yesterday. Before I even answered the phone, […]
I was a 14-year old 8th grader. I put my finger in my stepdad’s face. He was twice my size. We were in our new, San Diego living room…his living room. And with everything I had, I spouted, “FUCK YOU!” I was ready to punch him. I wanted to fight […]
Somewhere along the way, we made a conscious choice to preserve ourselves. To cut them loose. To let them go. For good. No more war. No more deceit. No more what ifs. Just gone. It was freeing. And painful. And soul wrenching. And there are days I can’t begin to […]
At the ripe age of 5-years-old, I announced to my mother that I would never birth my own children. Fast forward thirty-nine years and turns out, I was right. This year would have been my tenth year being the stepmother to Lyle, Mariam and Katherine. Unfortunately, despite my husband and […]
Our entire life seemed to revolve around one thing – the mother of my stepsons. Now I have no kids of my own so when I entered this already made family of four I didn’t realize there would be five of us. Being a stepmom was all new territory for […]
When my brother came to visit it was always one of the happiest times of my childhood. I knew that week would involve the beach, sun, and music as if, I too, was on vacation. I adored my brother and still do. The fact that he is my half-brother […]
As a child, I was one of those unfortunate children with a unique enough name that I was never able to find cups, keychains, jewelry, and other items with my name on them. Although I do not currently long for a pencil case or novelty license plate imprinted with “Audrey,” […]
