What a week!

I had the honor on Wednesday to speak to a hundred women at Hallbrook Country Club.

This memoir is not just any story, this is my story, the story of the Dog Lady of Lansing Prison.

Six word stories have been all the rage lately. It all started with Hemingway’s For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Worn.

Here is my six word story…

This past Christmas I was really struggling with some family issues.

For years and years
I built a wall
and stuffed the space
behind it full
of wounds and hurts
and needs
 
all those unspoken needs
Some very small
some not so much
most not even voiced
the space filled and
filled and filled
  
Until one day the pressure
was too great
a small crack and
finally broken
open wide

 I can't hide behind it
anymore - no matter
how hard I try

it's scary
not having a wall
 
It's raw and emotional

I can't pretend
to hide

I fall apart
in an instant
at insignificant things
or sometimes

nothing at all
 
Healing is so
much harder
than hiding
ever was
 
Some days I long
for the safety
of my wall...