Relationships can be minefields. As every one of us is a unique individual, it can be difficult to truly understand the people around us. Their views can be so drastically different from our own as to be incomprehensible. This isn’t necessarily wrong or bad. It’s just that we’re standing and looking a different way, seeing… Continue reading Relationship Minefields
Our mind is a powerful tool. We can sit and ponder the intricacies of the universe, the inner workings of the human heart, and the deeper meaning of life itself. We can imagine. Create. Solve. Understand. We can use our minds to make meaning of this strange and beautiful experience of being human. More often,… Continue reading Getting Out of My Head
Finding home in the space between the surface and the deep. This is part of a three-year exploration of the Siren archetype involving moving from survival to stillness, and finally, to sovereignty. The Siren has been an archetype that I’ve been dancing with for a while. More recently, I’ve been trying to embody her not… Continue reading Part 1: Power in Depth
The car was silent. The only sound was the tick-tick-tick of the engine cooling in the school parking lot. It’s just armor, and it looks heavy. Paige’s words weren't an echo. They were truth. Halley didn't drive home. Not right away. She drove to Mira's. It was an instinct. A pull, a "force" that had… Continue reading Halley: The Re-Direction
Author's Note Halley started as a mirror of my best friend, but she evolved into her own person. I think in some ways all three of these women I've written about are pieces of me. Mira represents my consciousness. My felt experience. The parts of me that I am aware of and actively healing. Mira's Story is the part of my identity that I identify with the most. Halley, she is my armor. She is outgoing with a bad picker that she uses to prevent getting hurt. Her 'force' and the 'performance' is the persona she deploys to keep the vulnerable, conscious self safe. And Paige. Paige is my shadow. She is the over analytical part that always needs a 'why' for everything. She's a perfectionist who tries to manage and control feelings by analyzing them. It's only been recently that I've become more aware of this shadow aspect of myself. So, while Halley, here, started as my best friend... she evolved into another part of me. A note on this chapter, "The Run": This is what Halley's armor looks like in action. It's the 'force' and 'performance' at its loudest, most desperate. It's her 'bad picker' pattern not as a flaw, but as a function. After being 'seen' by someone 'steady' (Theo), her entire system registers threat. The 'Halley' armor deploys to protect the vulnerable 'Mira' consciousness. 'The Run' is a pre-emptive strike—a flight away from the terrifying vulnerability of a 'foundation' and a dive into the familiar, 'shiny' chaos of a 'disco ball.' It’s a hollow, neon-lit performance to prove she's still 'free.' This is the part of the story where the armor 'works'… and in doing so, fails her completely.
Halley knew the after. The after-party. The after-image. The aftermath. She was the one who brought the snacks. The one who called you out. The one who held your hand in the trenches and never, ever left. Her life was a monument to the 'after,' to surviving. Her apartment was the physical proof: thrifted art,… Continue reading Halley: The Echo
This is Mira’s story—part fiction, part reflection, wholly honest.(Each chapter will end with a note from her writing, signed as your trusted friend.) Mira's Story: The BreachEven when you’ve done the work, the old stories can still echo. That doesn’t mean there's something wrong with you. It means you’re human. It didn’t start with a… Continue reading Chapter Thirty-Three: The Breach
This is Mira’s story—part fiction, part reflection, wholly honest.(Each chapter will end with a note from her writing, signed as your trusted friend.) Mira's Story: Call It What It IsWhen everything gets spoken out loud. The house was quieter than it had been all day, but not silent. Dishes clinked softly in the sink. Music… Continue reading Chapter Thirty-Two: Call It What It Is
"A steady, intuitive man who speaks less than most—but when he does, it matters." Who He Is Theo is the quiet one, until he isn’t. He is a therapist, a podcast co-host, and one of Rowan’s oldest friends. He has the kind of presence that makes people exhale. Calm, steady, perceptive. The kind of man… Continue reading Theo
“She doesn’t believe in sugarcoating anything—unless it’s the rim of a cocktail glass.” Who She Is Halley is Mira’s best friend. The blunt one. The loyal one. The one who will fight someone in the comments section and bring snacks to your breakup. She has a sharp tongue, a loud laugh, and a heart bigger… Continue reading Halley
