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…

I didn’t want my marriage…until I was told it was beyond fixing The first thing I noticed, other than the chaotically cluttered office, was the therapist’s handlebar mustache. It took up half his face and hid most of his mouth. The second thing I noticed was his oversized wooden desk…

And that’s a great thing “You’re so thin!” “You look amazing!” “What’s your secret?” When I embarked on my weight loss journey, I expected to hear some version of these things. After all, my friends and family knew my struggles with gaining weight after taking anti-psychotics to battle bipolar 2…

I gave her a grandchild, but she gave me a family She wanted to steal my baby. That was the only reason my mother-in-law stood in my minuscule living room with a new, yellow stroller. She claimed it was a gift, but my postpartum, sleep-deprived brain created a different scenario…

My body isn’t yours to critique “Turn around.” I spun before my cheerleading advisor, wearing the short, flouncy skirt I was being fitted for. At sixteen, I was five feet tall and 105lbs — but curvy. My breasts were larger than most girls, and my waist nipped in creating curvy…

Is everyone supposed to be miserable now? A few weeks ago, Daisey Beaton tweeted, “My husband and i wake up every morning and bring our coffee out to our garden and sit and talk for hours. every morning. it never gets old & we never run out of things to…

And we should stop trying to be relevant It wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard or read before but this time, it was directed at me. “Your outfit is cute. It’s something my daughter would wear,” the woman standing in line behind me said with a smirk. She, herself, had on…

Nice girls, it’s time to get in line behind me “You’re very direct for a woman,” the man said. We’d been discussing plans for my next book launch and when it comes to business matters, I am matter-of-fact. I tilted my head and met his gaze. “Really? Would you rather…

You can change someone’s day Children dart around clumps of adults clutching beers and glasses of wine while lost in conversation. On the stage near the parking lot entrance, a band plays crowd favorites and a few women self-consciously do the middle-aged, white woman step-and-shuffle. Carnival games line the perimeter…