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Journalism In Black and White

Journalism In Black and White

America is in crisis; while my new Huffington post blog addresses the shootings in MN and LA, I’m equally sick over the assassination of innocent police officers in Dallas doing their job to protect and serve the public while they cried out for justice. We all bleed red. We all grieve for our loved ones. We all know violence is wrong. Just stop!

Please read and share my post:

Journalism in…

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Mind Over Body

Testimony: I swallowed Ativan and waited for my surgeon. As I lay there a nurse tried to insert an IV into my hand but my vein collapsed. Blood covered my hand while I watched her scramble to find something to stop it. Moments later, she came back and placed an IV line in my arm; with that I was ready.

I limped into an operating room and laid on a table face down with my head in a padded hole.…

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A Love That Knows No Bounds

A Love That Knows No Bounds

Testimony: Getting to work on Friday was difficult. The cervical collar and persistent pain my neck and shoulder made it hard to put on my winter sweater, boots and then my jacket. The trouble delayed me so much I rushed out of the house without my engagement ring for the first time in nearly a year. I noticed its absence when I got in my car. I immediately texted my fiancé to bring it to me.

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The Day You Were Born

The Day You Were Born

I wasn’t there when you came into the world yet I know it was a joyous occasion. You were the living embodiment of my grandmother’s second chance at love. You were her baby girl, and although she didn’t have much to give you materially, you were showered with love; for that I am grateful. Why? It made you a kind, funny, generous, compassionate and giving woman who was strong enough to be my…

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When I Blow Out My Candles

When I Blow Out My Candles

I watch the flicker of the light for a few minutes while everyone sings. It’s so mesmerizing, I can’t hear anything around me other than the sound of my own breath. I stare at the fire as it dances playfully, almost taunting me as it reminds me that another year has passed. I close my eyes for a few seconds before I inhale and blow out my candles. My first thought: how many times I felt like the…

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I've a Few Reasons Not To Be Thankful But I Am

I’ve a Few Reasons Not To Be Thankful But I Am

I see it; that look on people’s faces when I limp by that lets me know I am being pitied. A few times, people have actually asked me, a stranger, why I walk with difficulty. I always answer. I say, “I’m not drunk or anything just more sick than I appear with an autoimmune disease.” I struggle to work as regularly as I can because there I’m treated like every other journalist. I handle a full work…

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Coping With the Monthly Reminder that I'm Not a Mom

Coping With the Monthly Reminder that I’m Not a Mom

Cramping, bloating, a craving for salt and excessive fatigue let me know a week in advance that, once again, I’ve failed to become a mother. I try to ignore those symptoms, often hoping against all odds that they’re early signs of pregnancy. My denial wanes as I watch the countdown on my fertility app, telling me my cycle should start in just a few days. Still, that moment when I look down and…

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Rules for Dating While Sick and Single

Rules for Dating While Sick and Single

When I moved back to New York at age 26, I wasn’t ready to date. I’d just come out of a long term relationship that, frankly, didn’t end the way I’d have liked. There was another piece of baggage weighing me down. I was suffering from a mystery chronic illness that hadn’t been pinpointed by my doctors. Still, I did what all twenty-somethings do with money, a great job, a car and other single…

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