There’s this commercial where a woman comes into her house and experiences the unparalleled relief of taking off her bra after a long day at work. I think it’s a beer commercial. There’s a Toots and the Maytals song in it called Pressure Drop. It’s a great song, and if you know it, you’re probably…
I wrote this on my Facebook, on Thursday: Up until about an hour ago, I thought I was going to completely blow a deadline so thoroughly that the project I’ve been working on for most of a year would be canceled. But I had this great conversation with my team (and indirectly with my editor,…
California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris reached out to me last week, and asked if I’d be willing to talk a little bit about my Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) today, to coincide with the launch of NumberStory.org, a new nonprofit organization she founded to help support people like me who had ACEs, and live with…
It’s like … 1980, probably. Maybe late 1979. It’s the summer in Los Angeles, and it is as hot as I can remember. The smog is so thick, you can taste an oily sheen in air that looks overcast, all the time. I’m in the back seat of my godmother’s car. My little sister and…
I got my second Pfizer shot yesterday morning. I’m looking at the lovely woman who is giving me my jab, and I am telling her, “I know this is your job, and I know you won’t remember me among the thousands of people you’ve jabbed, but I will never forget you. Thank you for giving…
