I thought she was a step-monster until I became a mom myself When I was six, my dad asked me what I wanted for my birthday. “A house of our own,” I told him. Even though I loved living with my grandfather and my single-father dad needed the help, I…

How a minuscule piece of clothing smashed my body image misogyny It seemed innocent. A neatly folded piece of lilac fabric surrounded by shreds of wrapping paper. I looked up at my husband and smiled. His love language was gifts of love, and he always selected his presents thoughtfully. But…

She had a physical defect, but she is perfect for us “We have a puppy, but she has an issue,” the breeder said over the phone. “No one wants her because she has an intestinal hernia, and even with surgerym we’re not sure if it’s going to be a reoccurring…

The answers we want after a suicide Trigger Warning: Suicide and suicidal ideation I’ve never triggered warned anything I’ve written before, and I’ve written about infidelity, self-harm, drug and alcohol abuse, emotional abuse, and suicide. Today, I am. Today, I’m writing in the aftermath of my friend’s suicide. Like everyone…

When facing family adversity, my son and I have a conversation I hadn’t fully wrapped my head around my husband’s traumatic brain injury (TBI). It was March 2012 — over a year since he was struck while riding his scooter by a truck making an illegal turn — and no…

The trash on my street hides conspicuous consumption Massive green bins line the curb like sentries keeping watch over the neighborhood. Handles face outward to assist sanitation collectors and occasionally, a neatly tied plastic bag sits next to an army green can. It is still dark at 6:30 as I…

My mother’s abandonment made me worry I’d ruin a daughter San Francisco’s Clement Street was crowded with vegetable displays and pedestrians pulling rolling baskets as I navigated Tate’s stroller along the sidewalk toward 6th Avenue. My two older boys, ages six and four, tagged alongside of me with their hands…

Spoiler: I’m a size 6 and fitter than ever “You can take off your shoes,” the nurse said. “Just put them here.” This was always the worst part of my doctor visits, and it often left me defeated. Over the past ten years, as my weight skyrocketed from a combination…

Why has it become okay to berate and demean hourly workers? They roast their own beans, not that it matters to me — I don’t drink coffee — but it does matter to the line of people standing in front of the counter. It’s Thursday, my morning writing day, and…