As a blogger and memoirist, I write real stories about mental illness, child abuse, language barriers, and identity. My debut memoir "I Asked the Blue Heron" is now available in stores and online in Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo.

Monday’s Intentions – Follow Through Decisions

Follow Through Decisions / Llevar a Cabo las Decisiones   I start early on the trail on this late June morning. In front of me, Catalina Island hides behind the receding marine layer. The air has a foggy quality to it, thick and still, almost like a curtain waiting to be opened to reveal the…

Disorientation / Desorientación

      Malls are built to make the customer wander aimlessly and spend a lot of money.   Most people even enjoy the urban pleasure of getting lost in the shopping center, and returning to their cars with bags of great finds in their hands. For me, however, the mall experience is cause of…

Creating Structure

Already on my way to recover from another mild relapse, I let the medication and the structure of a carefully planned routine guide me through this episode of hypomania.   I took advice from a friend of mine and wrote down every apparently unimportant task I had to do during the week in a detailed…