About a year ago, I posted my editorial, Thoughts on/of Suicide. The process of writing, publishing, and discussing this essay was almost like putting a little pressure valve in my brain/heart/stomach that lets out the emotions, anxiety, and dark thoughts. I think about this piece often and I have reread it more times than just…
“The human soul doesn’t want to be advised or fixed or saved. It simply wants to be witnessed, exactly as it is.” ~~~ One of the first things I was taught when I began my 40-hour training to become a certified Advocate for victim/survivors of sexual violence, was that our job was to “support and…
This post came across my Facebook recently, and it really struck me. Not only is this short story humanizing of young children, a plea for empathy and understanding, it is also incredibly effective at challenging a commonly accepted notion—the terrible 2s—demanding that we rethink what we believe we know about the behaviors of toddlers. The…
I wonder if it is ironic to say that this article overwhelms me. This article speaks to me in so many ways, and it is both validating and kind of scary to see myself being described so accurately. I often worry about being “too much” for people; when I get excited about someone, or a…
I have never been one for New Year’s resolutions, but for the past several years I take New Year’s Eve/Day as an opportunity to recommit myself to some variation of Dan Savage’s “Campsite Principle.” Last year it read: I will strive to leave my friends, family, partners, work, coworkers, lovers, acquaintances, communities, spaces in which…
This past August I had the pleasure of attending the 2018 National Sexual Assault Conference in Anaheim with frequent contributor and member of our Board of Directors, Brian Heilman (also representing his work with Promundo), along with Aapta Garg, Promundo Program Officer, and Elizabeth Miller, Director of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Children’s…
If there ever was a time for men to shut their mouths and open their ears, minds, and hearts to the women in their lives, that time has to be now. To be fair, that time was actually a long damn time ago, but it’s (hopefully) never too late to do the right thing. Through…
The vast majority of violence in all forms is perpetrated by men (against women, other men, queer folks, children, etc.). In order to stop cycles of violence, we need to challenge toxic masculinity and expectations of manhood that discourage emotionality, empathy, communication, cooperation, and so many other productive characteristics. This is may seem easier said…
