There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.â â Maya Angelou As a child I learned that keeping secrets was the "norm." We used the term "don't ask-don't tell" long before the military put the policy in place. I knew I had a voice, I just wasn't allowed to use it. Over the years, I forgot it was there. But in time, I found my voice. I know some people who just donât know how to stop talking; I donât know how to stop writing. I can say things through writing that I can't seem to express with talking. It just feels freer and safer. When people ask me why I share my life and my story so openly, I tell them, "because I have to." I was in my 30's before I knew anyone ever felt like I did. I didn't understand other people had experienced the same pain, the same shame, and the same feeling I had. I am currently working on a several projects in ficiton and creative nonficiton.You can visit my website at www.cathysvoicenow.comÂ
I wrote this piece for OdysseyOnLine in January 2017. As I passed through Bowman this past week I was reminded about my article so I thought I would share this article once again.
The words âUFO Welcome Centerâ are printed on the object in large, childlike, capital letters. There was a small model of an alien outside alongside another smaller sign saying âUFO Welcome Center / Bowman /âŠ
(This was an article I wrote for OdysseyOnLine in 2016)
Yes, I am angry-pissed off-frustrated-annoyed-fuming-livid and just plain mad. I am sick and tired of road bullies terrorizing others. Let me explain.
 I am not going to pretend to understand math and science. Specifically, I am not going to pretend that I can explain physics. What I do know is that physics is a science using math toâŠ
The original post was written in June, 2012 after Jerry Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse
âJerry Sandusky the monster is held accountable and his sex abuse victims are heroes for testifying.â  This was the headline I saw as I opened the internet this morning. If you were on facebook last night, you couldnât miss the news spreading across the posts. People shared anger, pain,âŠ
One week from today I will celebrate 31 years of continuous sobriety. April 11, 1987, was my first day clean and sober after losing everyone, everything, and trying to end my life. It has been an âŠ
One week from today I will celebrate 31 years of continuous sobriety. April 11, 1987, was my first day clean and sober after losing everyone, everything, and trying to end my life. It has been an amazing journey filled with joys, pains, grief, love, adventures, and so much more than I could have ever imagined. Nic Sheff, an alcoholic and addict, wrote his story in a book called  Tweak. He wasâŠ
I need to make a confession. Late last year, I surrendered to the pressure of my classmates and watched the Netflix Sci-Fi series Stranger Things. It is a Stephen Kingâish scenario set in the 80âs. In season one, a young boy disappears, and his friends soon discover that he has been taken to the âupside down.â The âupside downâ is a parallel dimension to our world; it is a dimension that is aâŠ
I have been thinking a lot about recent events, both private and public. Donât tell anyone, but I am sixty-six years old and, in a week, will become a great-grandmother. I am going to take a moment here to pause because I still have a hard time saying and accepting that. My life has had many twists and turns along what Robert Frost describes as the road less traveled. I have been standing at anâŠ
     It is January 2018 and the beginning of a new year. This is the time that we all make decisions to go to the gym, eat healthier, made amends, go to church, or make other life altering choices. I will admit that I too have been guilty of waiting for January to make changes that could have and should have been made long before. Instead of feeling guilty, I choose to see this as aâŠ
Click here to read my post for OdysseyOnLine at Clemson  âI took a quick step back in order to take a second look. I was shocked to see a rat in the bushes. It was not a cute rat like the one I used for this article. That was simply a ploy to encourage you to click and read the article. No, it was a dead rat â yes, dead as a doornail rat.â
I wrote an article about the conversations that have been happening after #MeToo starting appearing on social media. Click the link to read what I learned from these conversations. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/what-learned-from-metoo