Students Say the Darndest Things

Don’t get me wrong. In years of teaching dance, writing, public speaking, and sociology, I’ve had some fabulous students and some deeply appreciative ones. In May, I got a note from one of my writing students that didn’t just make my day. It made my year. 

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LAST STOP: THE MEMORY CARE UNIT

As my mother grew older, she regularly scoffed at the suggestion that she should consider purchasing nursing home insurance. Indeed, the thought of my powerhouse mom shut away in a long care facility seemed preposterous.

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What’s In a Name?

I’d barely unpacked my bags for my first grad school residency when I heard about one of the most revered teachers and mentors in the program, an accomplished horror author. “He’s brutal in his critiques,” an upperclassman informed me, “but if you survive, he’ll help you become a really good writer.”  He paused and said, “You’ll never get…

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Dealing with my Own “Stuff”

This past week, I took a professional development workshop on first aid for mental health, a program that originated in Australia and is now gaining widespread adoption in the states. It’s designed to teach skills in recognizing and responding to folks who may be in the early-stages of a mental health crisis

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