11-11-11: Wearing Purple & Free at Last
Tonight I’m celebrating my 400th post with Bitzie curled up next to me and wearing her purple. We are celebrating the veteran survivors of wars fought with the terrorists in our own homes. In October, I wrote 31 survivor stories and invited everyone to wear purple to express their commitment to end domestic … Read more
Doris Buffett: Giving It All Away (Book Review + More)
I am investing in people. – Doris Buffett What would you do if someone dropped hundreds of millions of dollars into your lap? If you are like Doris Eleanor Buffett, you will give it all away. During a dinner party at her younger brother Warren E. Buffett’s home, Bono suggested she write the story of … Read more
Dress to Express: Kiwis Wearing Purple in New Zealand ~ Bravo and Thank You for Your Support!
Did you Dress to Express on Friday? My BFF, Kiwi Mary, just sent me this photo of her colleagues celebrating their commitment to end domestic violence in the Southern Hemisphere ~ where it is now Spring. The men in her firm, Rapport Advertising and Marketing, also donned purple, but they were too shy to appear in the … Read more
Louise L. Hay: You Can Heal Your Life
Your thoughts create your life. – Louise L. Hay Louise L. Hay recently celebrated her 85th birthday with 400 friends and colleagues. She survived childhood rape and incest; child abuse, neglect and abandonment; teenage pregnancy; dating violence; and cervical cancer. She was a high-fashion model who married prosperous English businessman Andrew Hay and met royalty and dined at the White … Read more
Virginia Woolf: £500 and A Room of Her Own
A woman must have money and a room of her own. -Virginia Woolf, 1929 Why do women stay in violent relationships? Money. The gilded cage traps birds of all feathers. Children who experience abuse and incest are trapped in that cage. The life of a teenage run-away is dangerous. Women with children often are trapped in … Read more
Dr. Christine McFadden: Love Dispensed Here
Christine McFadden, DVM It was just to destroy me. – Dr. Christine McFadden She went out for a morning walk with her best friend, Amy Velasquez, and came home to find all four of her children brutally murdered. How do you recover from this devastating loss? Dr. Christine McFadden is a veterinarian in Merced, CA. She founded the thriving Valley … Read more
Virginia Clinton Kelley: Leading with My Heart (Book Review + More)
I’m friendly, I’m outgoing, and I like men. – Virginia Clinton Kelley First Mother Virginia Dell Cassidy Blythe Clinton Dwire Kelley bubbled with life. She survived child abuse and domestic violence, but she did not survive breast cancer. She passed away on January 6, 1994. Over 3,000 people attended her funeral, and she was buried on Elvis’ … Read more
Dr. Robin L. Smith: The Truth About Great Marriages (Book Review + More)
I have known what it is to live a lie ~ to want so badly to keep a relationship that I made myself invisible. . . I would like to spare the pain of every woman who fears that she can have love only if she erases her needs and makes herself small. – Robin … Read more
Bravo, Between Friends! They’re Painting Chicago Purple and Showing Us What’s Possible
My words have power. -Michele Weldon Between Friends is amazing. I discovered Between Friends while working on my post about Michele Weldon, who is on their advisory board. I was astounded by how effectively they have painted Chicago purple this October. Kathleen Doherty, a breast cancer survivor, is the executive director of Between Friends. Yet, … Read more
