​S. Jane Gari author of Losing the Dollhouse

This time of year can be hard for those who are in the midst of their battles as they recover from emotional abuse, sexual abuse, or some other trauma or past hurt. The holidays bring an onslaught of cheerful Hallmark families leering at us from the ubiquitous commercial bullhorns and screens. These images highlight the imperfections in our own families which can leave us feeling a bit sorry for ourselves. Here is some tough love for when the holiday blues take hold—happine

Every year, thousands of women in the military report being sexually assaulted. They face the same difficult roads to recovery that civilians do. And their healing is compounded by additional layers of stigma for whistle-blowing among some of their colleagues. But there is a silver lining in the military’s response to the trauma endured by these women. The VA in Nashville is now offering supplemental therapy through a partnership with Operation Song, a program founded by Bob

There’s a comedian named Margaret Cho. She’s hilarious. She’s also full of rage. Cho, like so many women, has been the victim of multiple sexual assaults. Some of the attacks on Cho happened in dark parking lots and at friends’ houses. But some happened in broad daylight with witnesses—no one questioned the man playfully lifting a girl in a swimming pool. What people didn’t see was how he strategically placed his fingers inside of her as he lifted her out of the water. What

The holidays are all about togetherness, family, and celebrating love…in theory. In reality, the obligatory family-time saturating the holiday atmosphere is a source of stress for a lot of people. With family comes the complicated shared histories—and it’s usually a mixed bag of hilarity, glory days, tragedy, and guilt. It can't be a coincidence that National Stress Awareness Day is in November. For me, the holidays of my childhood (and some of my adulthood) were spent ridin