When I started the search for my biological roots, I was innocent and naïve. It hadn’t crossed my mind that my family would deny and reject me. I thought the most significant hurdle would be just locating them. I had little information; being adopted was like that. It was the proverbial needle in the haystack.  ...

Dublin 873 C.E. Mist was rising off the water in soft clouds as they docked in Dublin early that morning. Five weeks at sea with only a few stops and all of Ingrid’s crew was ready to stretch their legs, find a meal, maybe a woman, and a bed for a few hours. First, though, ...

She thought she’d come for a playdate when in fact, she was there to participate in a massacre. Her face was ashen as she popped the first golden-haired head from the Barbie I handed her. She tossed it into the growing pile beside me, her eyes never leaving mine. The dolls belonged to my sister. ...

As the school year begins and schedules ramp up into frenzied activities, it is a good idea for family stability to find a time to reconnect with your children. It may also be a good time to improve Gen Z’s verbal skills from misspelled incomplete sentences to intelligible conversation. Both goals can be met with ...

Hold the baby who burbles words you don’t know yet, words that aren’t but are puffs of air burst from fat cheeks,

Marilyn thumbs the cracked upholstery of the couch. She shifts her feet in the clogs she’s wearing. They’re awful things, these clogs. Even she thinks so. They’re not so bad as the rubber ones that were borne out of necessity for gardeners and then adopted by line cooks and babies, but they’re still homely. Hers ...

Cancer: The word means nothing to most people. But to the people who have it, or those close to them, the word means everything.

At 5:23 p.m. on March 16th, 2008, in a coffee shop off Main Street, a bell rings. Sophie stumbles through the door, pushing her wild blonde hair back while the wind does its best to turn it into snarls. She’s met with her sister’s back. The cafe is quiet, so no one is there to ...

Bewildered at life I look at myself When shall I cross This moment despair Hate fills my body Wretched design No fuel to continue Empty on air This passage I ponder Shall it bring light? Or darkness of mind Hollow I drift My conscious betrays me Ode to the night For glory I’m sure Will ...

Read the previous installments of The Secret Of The Lilies. I kept my promise to Lori and called home as soon as I got to my room.  “Emma? Oh, Emma! George, come to the phone. Emma’s called!” The joy and relief in my mother’s voice increased my guilt.  I heard the extension click and then ...