I made a promise this summer that I would finish at least one chapter of my book so that I could send it off to a publisher this fall. The only way I seem to be able to get any of it done is if I hold myself accountable here. So here come the weekly doses of what I'm working on and bear with me each week as I post a bit of it. Here goes nothing....My knees are pulled in so tight to my chest it feels as if I might bruise my ribs. My arms grip my legs and my hands clutch at my ankles as if I am holding on for dear life. The skin on my knuckles is pulled tight and white. I rock on the dorm room floor of my friend Jessica’s room unable to stifle the sobs that sometimes become wails only to then crash into screams. If I were to look into a mirror now I would see my face is a mottled … [Read more...]
Dating Violence: Is Your Teen Getting the Message?
I was fourteen when I met a boy who I thought was of no consequence. I figured I would date him for a month tops and then it would be over. He was so persistent. Five years later I found myself sitting in a my university's counseling center sobbing uncontrollably over the monster that that relationship became. The one that tried to swallow me whole like it was some mutated Cracken from the sea. I got through it and came out stronger, vowing to tell my story and educate others from my experience.Now Macy's leading the way with its support for the RESPECT! Campaign, which offers the tools parents need to define and promote healthy relationships, and intervene effectively if abuse begins. FVPF (Family Violence Prevention Fund) states-"Teens across the United States are experiencing high … [Read more...]
Book Tuesday but Wednesday
Here's the newest excerpt from Casey. School picture day was a nightmare with Casey wearing some incredibly awful plaid ensemble her mother thought would be “just darling”. To Casey it damned her for all eternity as a complete dork. That plaid ensemble would live on in the high school year book for all time. Sarah having been on the ‘inside’ for this whole time is not only helping her to wade through the treacherous waters of high school but also her closet. According to Sarah they had their work cut out for them. If Sarah could not help turn Casey’s prissy private school girl image around soon she felt she was going to be doomed to sitting alone in the lunchroom and forcing herself on the lactose-intolerant highly allergic girl in the corner to be her lab partner. Sarah is her Obi … [Read more...]
Book Tuesday is Back!
Because I need a push, Book Tuesday is back. I hope you don't mind. If you want to read back pieces of Casey then click on the word 'casey' at the bottom and it will get you refreshed and up to date. Sarah is Casey’s best friend. The two could not be more different Casey frequently muses. Where Casey tends to stand in the corner Sarah is always out front. She is loud and feisty always angling to get what she wants in the way that she wants it. Casey likes to wait things out and see where life will take her unless Sarah decides to drag her along which she frequently does. Casey’s parents have been all over her lately to find new friends. They want her to branch out beyond Sarah at this new school and think that maybe then she will stop getting into trouble. Lately, when she and … [Read more...]