I read this quote today: “If there is positive male experience in her early years, she is going to do much better.… That’s the power of a dad.” — Dr. Meg Meeker It made me think about my relationship with my father and how it influenced me. So for Father’s Day, a collage of memories [...]

Writing yesterday’s post about my mom dredged up the sad stuff for me. Since writing it I haven’t been able to get far enough away from that image of the 7-year-old me putting that blanket over my mom and me on the floor because I couldn’t drag her by her feet to bed. I can’t [...]

When I look back at memories I have from birth to age 12 of my childhood, I’m stunned at how little I actually remember of it or of my mother.

This post was originally posted last year, just after the death of singer Whitney Houston.

  Christmastime always conjures the ghost of my father, who loved and embodied all things Christmas. It was his favorite day. He loved wearing his kilt, attending midnight mass, cooking a Christmas breakfast, singing carols, opening presents, and having a house full of people over for a big feast. He’d wake up early on Christmas [...]

Alcoholism is one of the leading causes of a dysfunctional family in the US. As of 2001, there were an estimated 26.8 million children of alcoholics (COAs) in the United States, with as many as 11 million of them under the age of 18.

This week I tweeted that well, I’m happy, so something must certainly be wrong because I’ve usually got something to kvetch about, right? The truth is, I’ve been content and happy for weeks now, so of course, with my background, I began to get worried – like maybe the sky may fall in or something. [...]

My sister recommended the book, The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout. She’s reading it because she thinks it might explain her ex-husband, with whom she’s involved in a horrendous custody battle.

Today is the anniversary of my beautiful Dad’s death. He caught a meteor on out of here eleven years ago today, the day after 9/11. The day before my first baby was due to be born. Maybe he’d had enough. 

Okay since I’m on a roll here, on the topic of hippiedom, now that we’re all in touch with our patchouli-scented inner hippies, I’m going to tell you the bizarre things the psychic massage lady said to me about what I was up to in my past life.