[Self portrait on a Saturday morning]

Hello and welcome.

Fellow Substackers often ask me what “Living in the Edges” means and I tell them, “It’s where I come from and where I have found myself living life.” I never was quite in the middle of mainstream culture. As a result, I was left out at times, didn’t quite fit in, and forged my own path which became a winding road of the arts. Now, in my sixth decade of living, I find I am here on Substack to not write around the edges of my life, which I had been doing, but instead, put the hip-waders on and walk out into the silt and beauty of where I’ve been, share my story, my art, and my healing journey. I hope to connect with others who are walking a similar path. Some of my posts will be informative. I do a lot of self-study trying to understand my diagnosis of C-PTSD. And some of these posts will be story telling. But bottom line – ash, and truth, and a little humor can go a long way in helping others not feel so alone.

Mental illness was a four-letter-word in my family. It was whispered as if it were the plague and if we spoke too loudly of it, it might come true. I would like to put a dent in that mindset and promote the importance of taking care of our mental health.

Readers can count on:

●        the Living in the Edges newsletter is free and I plan to send it out monthly moving to bi-montly eventually. You can look for stories, curated resources, and an occasional piece of digital art from yours truly.

●        essays and multi-media posts about complex themes I find curious and thought-provoking.

My hope is that you may find these posts useful, maybe even use as a navigation tool or map for finding community, refuge, and inspiration.

Who I am

Sometimes the light bulb has to hit you over the head before it blinks on. I had been writing around the edges of something profound; my lived experience of the past which included domestic violence which brought me to where I am today. Once I realized this then it became a quest, an intrigue, about how to write about the experiences that shaped me without sounding off trigger alarms with every post. To make something beautiful – art. And to heal.

I’ve spent most of my life living a creative life. I've put in my 10,000 hours on many endeavors from becoming a writer, a fine artist, a writer and musician, to a Holistic Practitioner, a hypnotist, and a Shaman-in-training. Did I mention I was in a rock band in my 50’s? Now approaching 70, I had to scratch out a make-believe compass and re-map my life, again. And that’s okay - I am on version five. It’s still me but better, fiercer with a resolve and hunger to live my biggest, best damn life to date.

Of if it calls to you and you feel like paying it forward, you can support my work in this way too.