Into the Wilderness: Our Journey to Wholeness

Into the Wilderness: Story 60 Christmas Past My father sits in an avocado-green velvet chair, a large Waterford glass with bourbon on the rocks in his hand. In the kitchen,Continue reading “The Ghosts of Christmas”

Into the Wilderness: Story 59 I’ve been thinking a lot about attachment. Some people can cut people out of their lives as simply as lancing a pimple. Slash and theContinue reading “Crevice”

Into the Wilderness: Story 58 Ten years ago, I was hospitalized with acute abdominal pain. My temperature was 105, and I was vomiting and crying with pain. Less than anContinue reading “I failed my MRI, and I’m alive because of it”

We are entering the holiday season when gratitude, gatherings and gifting carry us to year’s end. I rarely ask for favors or gifts, but I am boldly asking for oneContinue reading “Please, And Thank You”

Into the Wilderness: Story 57 The political landscape has been such a roller coaster that I couldn’t bear to dwell on it. I’m both heartened by the democratic “wave,” asContinue reading “Ghost Story”

Into the Wilderness: Story 56 My fourth grade teacher scared me. I grew up in Oklahoma in the center of the Bible Belt. Although church and state were supposed toContinue reading “Get Thee Behind Me”

Into the Wilderness: Story 55 A close family member and I have not spoken in almost 20 years. His children are adults with careers. He looks as he always didContinue reading “Lost and Found”

I haven’t shared a poem in years. Here’s a new one. Here’s to the bad girls, The ones who rise at midnight, Twitching for a fix Of wind in theContinue reading “Bad Girls”

An Into the Wilderness blog: Story 54 Surviving Facts blog The nights are already turning crisp in New Jersey. Last night, as I sat on my sister’s back porch watchingContinue reading “Snow White and the Corporate Economy”

Into the Wilderness: Story 53 No, I’m not talking about packing heat. I’m talking about packing up everything you have gathered over sixty years of life and putting it allContinue reading “Packing”

An Into the Wilderness blog I don’t usually use Walk the Moon to celebrate life milestones. But today, I am. Today, my husband and I have been married for 11Continue reading “A Moment to Love”

Into the Wilderness: Story 51 My husband and I have worked hard to forge a relationship based on equality, respect and compassion. My husband is almost 70, so when IContinue reading “Claiming Space”

Into the wilderness: Story 50 Imagine the life of a butterfly. First, the egg clinging to the underside of a leaf, miniscule yet tough. Its chorionic shell hides a waxyContinue reading “Butterfly”

Into the Wilderness: Story 49 When you’re obese, you will always have a fat mind. Notice I said “mind.” Even if or after you lose weight, your mind cannot releaseContinue reading “Heavy Memories”

Into the Wilderness: Story 48 And then there was Joe. I didn’t want to pull this string. I let it dangle until I singed the threads, a definite end. HeContinue reading “Average Joes, Strings Part 3”

Into the Wilderness: Story 46 June marks two sad milestones for my sister and me. On June 15, 33 years ago, our dear mother passed away. June 29 would haveContinue reading “Mamma’s daughter”

Into the wilderness: Story 45 Here’s another string I didn’t pull. It’s a handsome young man, military, muscled, groomed. He sat next to me in Middle English Language and Literature.Continue reading “Strings, Part 2”

Into the Wilderness: Story 44 At night, I struggle to sleep. I start my routine, washing and scrubbing my face, layering, vitamin C, snail mucin, hylaraunic acids, retin A andContinue reading “Strings”

Into the Wilderness: Story 12 Raising Autism: Survey 101 I have yet to write about ASD, or Autism Spectrum Disorder. That’s because we had yet to make the connection. GirlsContinue reading “On the Spectrum-Republished”

Into the Wilderness: Story 6 Our rented SUV was one of the last in the parent caravan. We drove along winding paved roads until we turned off onto dirt pathways,Continue reading “The Ridge- REPUBLISHED”

Into the Wilderness: Story 5 On Catina’s 15th birthday, I gave her a drug test. She walked in the door from school, a rare smile on her face, and, withoutContinue reading “Happy Birthday- Republished”

Into the Wilderness: Story 4 When Catina went into the wilderness, we did too. Our wilderness was inside us, the intricate branching of thought and memory that builds up overContinue reading “Sunshine- Republished”

Into the Wilderness: Story 43 Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of negative commentary on wilderness and residential therapy. Paris Hilton released Hell Camp, a Netflix documentary about her treatmentContinue reading “How Wilderness Therapy Saved My Family”