The guilt could kill me if I let it. The first overwhelming crush of guilt came for me when I was 18. I’d left home forever, traveling 2,000 miles away to attend college in northern California. Before I left, I took each of my youngest siblings out for dinner, just one-on-one, and we talked about… Read More Emblem of Our House: Guilt
Ten years ago, I was 23. Margaret was 13. I was still six months away from moving to Colorado, trying to find a job in New York City while staying with a family from the religious group I’d been a part of since 2008. And there was a guy attending another religious weekly gathering who… Read More Emblem of Our House: Date
There’s a little bar across the street from my mom’s house. We went there for dinner the week of the funeral, while everyone was still around. We were waiting for some family members to join us when a woman turned around at the bar and said, “Margaret!” My stomach dropped in that moment, and I… Read More Emblem of Our House: Drunk
I haven’t had to answer questions about my education for years at this point. In the past, I would say something like, “I was partly homeschooled and partly private schooled,” and sometimes the other person would have questions, but sometimes they’d be too confused to explore further. It’s a lot of details that don’t matter… Read More Emblem of Our House: Education