Happy to share this piece from over at my Substack. It’s part of what I think will be a new book, memoir-ish and full of my shitshow trauma learning over the last few years. And, yes, this means I am writing again! Embarrassing stories from middle school are a great way to rip off the bandaid…
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It felt strong. It felt brave. It felt powerful. It also felt sad. Unexpectedly, desolately sad. I’ve always said “When I have an emotion, I’m usually last to know.” That’s not really true of me anymore, but for years I was always reacting to Big Feelings but almost never knowing which feelings, or why. I’m sure the reasons are as…
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Yesterday I and a few other people abused by my childhood coach saw him sentenced to prison in Texas. Ricardo Delgado’s story in the San Antonio Express-News here. Zachary Taylor Wright’s story in MySA here. I gave an impact statement, right to his face, and will need some time to know exactly how I feel about it… except proud. The…
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What a day of wonder. I’m in Austin, TX, Texas being my homeland and site of a whole lot of memories of all colors and temperatures. Today I tagged along with a coalition of survivors of child sexual abuse representing several different advocacy organizations as well as themselves. We were there to educate legislators and their staff about SOL reform…
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www.fox7austin.com/news/survivors-protest-texas-bill-child-sex-abuse-statute-limitations-austin-capitol
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Call, email, fax, visit your Texas legislators and get rid of the arbitrary “expiration” of the rights of sexual assault victims/survivors. Today! In today’s San Antonio Express-News
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The last thing I ever thought I’d be doing on TV news is talking about this! Usually it’s students of mine doing a cute performance, or maybe photos of them eating ice cream at a festival or something!
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When I decided in spring 2022 to make sure that the man who had sexually abused me in 1983 had actually been officially reported to law enforcement, I did so for my own peace of mind if nothing else. I had no real sense of the places it would lead. Now Mike Spiller, a gymnastics coach who sexually abused me…
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In 1983 and for a while after, the gymnastics center in Northwest Houston that I attended held sleepovers. These were fun extras, like the lock-ins a church youth group might have. But, beyond the normal kid fun of a sleepover my friends, something else happened. My coach, Mike Spiller, whom I adored and whose attention and approval I craved, sexually…
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Do you have a to-be-read list? Or shelf or pile or bags full, like my kids and I do? Are you such a cool reader kid you call it a TBR? There’s an art to the TBR, and I don’t have it. Take for example my friend and colleague Rob, who one magical year actually accomplished the impossible of actually…