I’ve had a number of people write with words of encouragement as I start this blog. The support has been amazing and I am so thankful that you are reading. I felt a need to write and express my gratitude and explain.

These stories are about me and my siblings making it through really fucked up childhoods, but above the sadness and despair is an element of love and resilience, all seasoned with a good dose of humor. The humor is not a mask for the pain; the humor reminds us of the rich complexity of life and allows us to rise above any situation. If you cannot see the humor in these posts, you are missing the point. And besides, those in my life whom I love the deepest are really funny.

Yes, my parents are still alive and no, I am not intending to cause undue pain by writing about them. I love my parents. They were total fuck ups as parents, but they’re good people. Besides, they are not the people today who they were in the stories; I mean the goal is to live and learn and hopefully grow into the person God intended each of us to be. And, to be completely egocentric, these stories are about me.

I’ve heard some of these stories repeated from the perspective of others and although my siblings’ rendition and mine tend to mesh fairly closely, others’ seem to deviate greatly at times. That’s true with any story and with life right, we’re all moving through, limited by our own perspective, living in our own universe.  From some perspectives the horror of a situation is forgotten or the story is altered to protect one’s psyche, I get this, I’m sure I do it myself. But taking the pain out of my story doesn’t change what actually happened and not understanding my perspective will destroy me. So you get it here, my story, as I recall, from my perspective.

Lastly, above all else, I hope people see each story as a true American tale— stories of strength and survival. I started a life very different than that I live now and at times have traveled a tumultuous path but by the grace of God and with perseverance, I have landed well. I understand that the story would have ended much differently in other parts of the world and I am eternally grateful for my opportunities. My goal for the remainder of my life is to award the same opportunity to others, to be of assistance however I can.

Thanks for reading and thanks so much for the feedback!