It took me 20 years to realize that when he carried me from the toilet to my bed, covered in vomit from over-intoxication, it was rape. It took me 20 years to realize that, at the age of 15, I was a child.
Category Archives: relationships
American Sexism—The History and Future of American Women
As far back as we can remember, perceived ugliness and misconduct of this world has been blamed on women. Women have been oppressed, abused, raped and silenced for hundreds of years.
Love the Living
When people die, we talk about everything good they ever did and forget all their mistakes. When our loved ones pass away, we love them the way they always wished to be loved when they lived. We love the dead fiercely and…
You are NOT a Victim
Many people spend their lives blaming others and circumstances for their chronic unhappiness. You don’t have to be one of them. You can release the role of the victim, the betrayed and the abandoned. Stop using your painful past to vindicate the imperfections that don’t need an explanation. Being human is your gift to this world. The moment you embrace this, you can move forward with grace and dignity. You can become the victor.
The Edge of Hope and The Thousand Shade Woman
She may not have it beat yet, but she would, the mother told herself. She knew she would find the solution — she just hadn’t yet. She knew she could get better, she just wasn’t better yet. As squelched were the screams of her soul, there was something she could hear. No, she couldn’t hear her soul at all. But this she could feel.
If We Judged Our Heroes Like We Judge Each Other We Wouldn’t Have Any
A great many writers, musicians and creators do not practice what they preach but preach what they wish to practice. That is not good or bad, but it is just the way it is. It does not discount their message.
Because we do not want to look at the ugly side of our heroes, we put away the sides of them and the facts of their existence that we find undesirable.
Death by Abstinence — Recovery Shame Kills
Jillian’s peers had made it out like the world ended when you used any substance, but the world hadn’t ended at all. In fact, it felt exactly the same. She still had no desire to use it and was looking forward to doing step work with Jen that evening. Even more, after the magic of last night, she was looking forward to it more than the day before.
People Places and Things
When she had first arrived to the rooms, one of the first things Jillian heard was that she had to change her people, places and things. Which made sense because like they always say, “If you keep going to the barbershop, you are going to get a haircut.” But when her old friend Sarah called, she was delighted to hear from her. Sarah wasn’t around during the years Jillian spent curled up into a miserable ball at the feet of addiction.
Finding The Will to Live | Addiction Recovery
She was 16 years old when she shot dope for the first time. Drugs had never been around much for most of her childhood, but she had been dating this mega-hot senior, and she was head over heels.
Celebrities Celebrate Themselves and You Should Too — Oprah’s Tickets to Timeless Fame
We struggle because we have been told our whole lives to “stop bragging.” Every aspect of human nature is a double-sided coin and when it comes to the coin of self-celebration, we often confuse it with the other side of the coin— self-promotion, grandiosity, self-absorption and greed.
Holly Kellums 