Bravo, Marcella Chester @ Abyss 2 Hope
Bloggers are the most creative people! A few months ago, I found this very clever “Just Being Real“ blog award. The blogger is a sexual abuse survivor who believes in […]
Tag Archives: emPOWERment
Would you endure 40,000 lashes for your cause?
In the spirit of Gahndi, Lubna-Ahmed al-Hussein is willing to submit to 40,000 lashes for wearing pants in public. Ms. Hussein works for the UN which has recently been criticized by Eve Ensler for failing in their promise to prevent violence against women in the Congo. The UN is not supporting Ms. Hussein’s courageous decision to go on trail rather than opt for diplomatic immunity.
Kate’s Couch: Sharing My Complex-PTSD Therapy Sessions
Therapy for Complex PTSD (multiple traumatic events) is more shot-in-the-dark than science. Mental health professionals don’t have viable treatment protocols for PTSD (one traumatic event), and most are totally clueless about treating Complex PTSD. Sadly, too many still think, for example, that EMDR is effective. It isn’t.
Cherished: Daddy’s Little Girl
When we truly cherish someone or something we take special care. We nurture. We’re gentle. Love flows freely and generously.
My hope for each of us today is that we cherish ourselves. We make our-selves a priority. We eat healthy. We get some good exercise. We get a good night’s rest. Essentially, we care for ourselves like we are precious children of God. We all are, you know. Yes, you are precious.
Bill Clinton: Why He’s a Champion for Family Violence Prevention
When we think of Bill Clinton’s presidency, passage of the Violence Against Women Act isn’t typically the first thing that comes to mind. Yet, he is a tremendous champion for family violence prevention and for people who have experienced abuse. He’s walked in our shoes.
July 22: Feast of Mary Magdalene
We know from the Gospels that Jesus perceived Mary Magdalene to be an equal partner. Some scholars suggest she might have funded his missionary work. She was with Jesus until the very end, and she witnessed the resurrection on Easter morning.
Our lives and relationships would be so very different if Church tradition was founded on such equality between women and men.
Seneca Falls: Have we come a long way, Baby?
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was passionate about equality. She refused to utter the word “obey” in her marriage vows. She edited the Declaration of Independence to read: “All men and women are created equal. . .” Her first sentiment addressed domestic violence.
Steps and Exes by Laura Kalpakian
Laura Kalpakian wrote my all-time favorite line in Steps and Exes:
“Bullshit,” said Eve,
but not too loud.
The book is set at Useless Point on Isadora Island, a fictional artistic enclave in the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest. The heroine, Celia Henry, became a young widow before she realized her late husband was not Henry West ~ she had married Henry Westervelt, the scion of a lumber baron family. Her life is unconventional and filled with a tribe of step children and ex-spouses and lovers. She runs a bed and breakfast on property that belonged to Henry’s great aunt Sophia. (See Educating Waverly by Laura Kalpakian.)
Bridges, Chapter One
Sunshine knew it would be no good if she rescued Billy. He had to make it across that bridge on his own. By now, she was almost across the bridge. She wasn’t about to risk the perils of turning back. She desperately wanted him to have the courage to cross that bridge. She needed for him to make it to the other side.
Bridges, Chapter Two
He was worried. She seemed to be having the hallucinations of a dying person. He was right about the dying. “Who the hell is Anne Elizabeth Bellingham?” he demanded hoping she would drift back into reality. “Bridges,” was her whispered reply, “bridges. You must write the story.”
He wanted to know more, but she was no longer grasping his hand. He knew she was gone. He couldn’t cry. He couldn’t move. She was gone, and he didn’t know who it was lying in that bed. Was it the woman he had loved or a stranger?
Anne Caroline Drake 