families

When mom and dad argue, oftentimes, the child feels responsible and that it’s their fault.

Yes, There’s A 'Right Way' To Fight In Front Of Your Kids — Here’s How

Remember vowing that when you got to be an adult you and your spouse wouldn't be fighting in front of your kids like that?

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My mom helped me find the balancing point between caretaking and controlling because she insisted on her autonomy. “I don’t need your help in the shower,” she’d say, “and I can dress myself.”

The Summer My Mother's Progressive Arthritis Taught Me To Love And Let Go​

That summer became the fulcrum of a seesaw: as my children need me less, my mother needed me more. My mother's arthritis taught me to love and let go.

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Tell your child something that they need to hear: they are safe, and you will stop at nothing to make sure that is always the case.

Tell Them They Are Safe (Even When You Don’t Believe It)

Children are not good at understanding odds. Tell them they are safe (even when you don't believe it).

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There is no more powerful place to learn a life lesson than at the bedside of the dying.

What Really Matters: A Lesson From The Dying

There is no more powerful place to learn a life lesson than at the bedside of the dying. At the end, very little matters.

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My family's culture demands touching.

Consent Is Hard When Your Family's Culture Demands Touching

Sometimes I wouldn’t want anyone to touch me, but I had to put up with it or I would be seen as rude and cold. My family's culture demands touching.

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My family's culture demands touching.

Consent Is Hard When Your Family's Culture Demands Touching

Sometimes I wouldn’t want anyone to touch me, but I had to put up with it or I would be seen as rude and cold. My family's culture demands touching.

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World War II veterans suffered acutely at the hands of a society intent on a single conformist vision of life that did not include mental illness. (Image of Pat courtesy of the author.)

When Veterans Come Home: My Grandfather And His Demons

I'm trying to unearth the secrets of my grandfather’s story of when veterans come home. I'm looking at what happened to the men of WW ll.

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If this doesn't make you feel good, I don't know what will.

The Feel-Good-est Feel-Good Things On The Internet (Because The World Sucks)

Okay. Let’s cut the crap. The world is terrible right now. So I bring to you the feel-good-est feel-good things on the Internet. You're welcome!

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