​S. Jane Gari author of Losing the Dollhouse

When I started this blog, I wanted to start a conversation relevant to my memoir, but I was afraid I would exhaust the subject--or that the subject would exhaust me. The sad truth is the topic of sexual abuse, assault, harassment, and molestation cannot be exhausted. At least not in our current society. The news provides a constant stream of horror stories of high profile cases. Politicians, scout leaders, police officers, priests. Every group we're supposed to revere is

I love listening to NPR’s Here and Now to get the rundown on issues of the day, but I’ve never commented on their website after listening. Until last Thursday, January 14. I listened to their 10 minute segment entitled “Bill Clinton’s Past Infidelity and What It Means for Hillary’s Campaign”. I felt compelled to weigh in because the allegations against Bill Clinton hit a nerve with me. Bill Clinton’s bad behavior is about more than just “Past Infidelity”. This is about a

When I was a senior in high school I wrote a lot of poetry against the backdrop of David Bowie albums. I wouldn’t crib his words, just borrow the atmosphere. Cranking Bowie at high decibels made me feel comfortable in my own weirdness—gave me the courage to claim and channel it. When I found myself mired in family drama and looking for an outlet, Bowie often obliged. Hunky Dory was especially effective. From the opening piano riff of “Changes” to the nearly funereal drone of

On today’s NPR broadcast of Here and Now, journalist Robin Young interviewed Emily Lindin about her book Unslut: A Diary and Memoir. The story recounts the minefields of adolescence where girls are branded as “easy” or “teases” based on their sexual behaviors or half-baked rumors based on those decisions. The most stunning revelation in Lindin’s NPR interview was how the young author never assigned blame to the boys while she was in the thick of it. She absorbed misplaced g