Blog
10 Ways Travel Healed Me
Healing comes in many forms, and in my life, traveling has been one of the greatest forms. In my memoir, Under The Orange Blossoms, travel as a young girl changed my perspective and gave me hope for my future. Throughout…
Father’s Day with a Formerly Abusive Father
Father’s day for some people is difficult to celebrate if they have an abusive father or father that has been abusive in the past. Abuse comes in many forms, including emotional, physical, sexual, and financial abuse. Knowing how to manage…
How To Help A Child Facing Trauma
The past few weeks have brought terrible news of mass shootings in multiple cities that have paralyzed communities and families. While the world grieves the loss of these beautiful souls, my heart and mind cannot comprehend the trauma these families…
What Can You Do If You Suspect Sexual Abuse?
I have often wondered if my teachers or neighbors had suspected that I was being sexually abused as a child. I’m not sure if they had suspicions and didn’t do anything about it or if they really didn’t see the…
9 Signs of Sexual Abuse
How can you detect sexual abuse signs? While training in detecting sexual abuse has become more widespread, there are signs that often go unnoticed or are misidentified. After reading my memoir, Under The Orange Blossoms, I have been asked numerous…
Prince Andrew: An All Too Common Story of Silencing Sexual Abuse
The story of Prince Andrew and the sexual abuse allegations against him have been fairly quiet on the news. I caught a quick glimpse of the announcement that Prince Andrew had settled with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre for 12 million…
Podcast on An Unexpected Launch
I had the wonderful opportunity to share openly about my childhood sexual abuse with Kirsten Duncan on the An Unexpected Launch podcast. In this podcast we discussed how the abuse stopped, what my children thought about their grandfather and how…
It’s been a process
It’s been a while, friends! This blog started a little over a year and a half ago, and while you may have wondered where I went, I have been very much here in this space, just not on the blog…
Betrayal
Over a year ago, I asked my father if he would be willing for me to interview and record him about his life. I felt emotionally prepared going into each interview, but I underestimated how much it would take out…
Pill Boxes
Every other week, I stop by my father’s retirement home, to refill his pill boxes. I have always managed his medications and find it to be a straight forward process and a simple way to care for him. I hadn’t…
Why am I calm in my videos?
I’ve had multiple people comment on my composure in the video interviews of my father. To prepare for the interviews, I anticipated all the ways that my composure could affect him, and I made a conscious effort to remain calm…
Marching with my sister in Bolivia
I was so inspired by this story I heard on the news this morning. There are everyday heroes locally and globally who are speaking up against sexual assault. These voices are not just personal stories, but they speak for the…