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5 days ago3 min read
Do You Care About What Goes on Inside Prisons?
A typical prison cell in the United States is about 6 by 8 feet and contains a bed, toilet, and sink. Newer prisons may have doors with a...
461
Sep 13 min read
Every 11 minutes Someone in the US Dies by Suicide
September is suicide awareness/prevention month. I’m grateful that there’s a month to bring awareness to this problem that affects the...
342
Aug 193 min read
Ten Things I’ve Learned Since My Son Died
The pain of losing a child can be physical. That first year, in addition to the emotional pain, I had an ache in my heart that was a constan
1060
May 94 min read
The Truth About Mental Health Hurts
And here’s the part that sends fury through my veins: Even if they WANTED HELP, there is so little help available,
303
Apr 302 min read
Mental Health Care In Orange County
A year ago (3/28/23) I wrote a blog post titled “The Illusion of Accessible Mental Health Care”. It’s an 8 minute rant about how here in...
703
Mar 75 min read
Abuse on the Job, Part One
I share this humiliating story to make two points: 1) Any family member of someone who has substance use disorder is dealing with so much...
443
Feb 265 min read
The Past Informing the Future
Keven, Anthony, "Kelly" For many years I had a blog called "The Needle and the Damage Done" (yes, I stole that title from Neil Young's...
594
Feb 173 min read
Grief & Mental Illness
Chapter 19 of “Talk to Me I’m Grieving” is called “Grieving the Living” it begins with this: “Sometimes we grieve for a person who’s...
474
Feb 22 min read
Who am I Now?
The loss of my son in 2020 changed me. Aside from the devastating heartbreak, there were some positive changes. The things I did...
1049
Dec 31, 20234 min read
And 16 days later, she was gone…
I just found this, I had written it a little over two weeks before my sister, Therese, passed away as a result of her liver disease and...
608
Dec 28, 20233 min read
Grief is Lonely
It’s been 7.5 weeks since I lost my sister, Therese. Last week we had the Celebration of Life for her and since then the pain has been so...
743
Nov 20, 20234 min read
I Knew the End was Near
WOW. I decided it was time to write a blog post about losing my sister, Therese. When I opened my folder to type one, I found this! I...
1478
Sep 29, 20236 min read
Grieving Suicide Loss
When someone we love chooses to end their life, we experience all the normal feelings associated with grief, but there are some that are...
353
Aug 31, 20233 min read
Harm Reduction = Opportunity to Live
Here's one of the biggest problems for someone with substance abuse disorder. To begin with, there is a saying that goes like this:...
392
Aug 7, 20233 min read
How Drug Use and Suicide are Related
I lost Keven to suicide in August during Drug Overdose Awareness Month. I lost Anthony to overdose in September during Suicide Awareness...
560
Jul 12, 20233 min read
I'm just a mom who does stuff she has to do...
"You're so strong and brave." "How do you do it?" "Why do you do it?" "You didn't grieve very long before you started doing it." These...
494
Jun 22, 20234 min read
Behind The Razor Wired Fence
I thought my days of visiting someone in jail were over, but they weren’t. Tomorrow I will go to Theo Lacy jail here in Orange County to...
997
Jun 7, 20234 min read
The Fear of Being Considered a Fake
Raise your hand if you’ve tried any of the many Chat GPT apps! I’ve tried some and, frankly, it kinda scares me on two levels: Will...
442
May 17, 20231 min read
Thank you book contributors!
Just a quick 20 second video to share these names and show my gratitude. My book is better because these friends shared from their own...
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