I'm having a blast in the world of oral storytelling, and you can hear me tell my latest story in the podcast Two Truths & a Lie. Or you can watch the video below. In this live storytelling show, three performers share personal stories. The catch? One of us is...
Women’s Empowerment
Taking Credit
As a writing instructor, I yearn to take credit for the ingenious, creative, perceptive stories my students create. They’re kids, mostly middle-schoolers, and I yearn to point at their work and say, “They know how to do that because I taught them how.” But I believe...
Girls Running With Bulls – Is Jeannie Mark Completely Nuts?
When I was 36, I spent a month in Spain, and I never regretted that I missed running with the bulls in Pamplona. But today I heard the below interview with travel blogger Jeannie Mark, known as the Nomadic Chick, and began to wonder if I've spent my life being too...
The Woman Bully Boss – by Guest Blogger Sandra Ford Walston
“Forty percent of bullies are women, and when women are bullies, they choose women as targets 71% of the time. Sadly, when the bully finds his or her target, the target pays with his or her job.” – Dr Gary Namie Dr. Gary Namie started The Workplace Bullying Institute...
Pole Burn
I took a pole dance class. Once. In 2007. Here's how that went: I know what rug burn is, but never until now concerned myself with pole burn. That’s what happens when, while pole dancing, you do a pole sit with your back pressed too tightly against the pole. My...
What Maude Taught Me
I happened to be listening to NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross today, when her guest, songwriter Mark Mulcahy, busted into a kick-ass version of the theme song for the 1970s sitcom Maude. As I listened, I realized what a cool feminist anthem it is: And then There’s...
Dancing to Viola’s Blues
I love old-fashioned social dancing to swing and blues music, but sometimes the music we move to with passion and joy has its roots in true tales of tragedy and sacrifice. What do you expect from the blues? On Tuesday night I was hanging at Denver's Mercury Cafe when...
Empowering Ourselves as Women: Three Lessons from Anna – by Guest Trekker Kristen Wolf
We are all connected to the natural world. All of us made from it. Whatever your beliefs, one must acknowledge that our bones and blood and skin are made of the same stuff as rocks and trees and rain. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust” sums it up best. The Way is a novel...
Adventure in the Night: A Girl Escapes Abuse on an Angel’s Wings – By Guest Trekker Monica Brinkman
My guest today is an author who offers a spiritual twist on adventure. I often talk about the healing power of adventure, but Monica Brinkman shares how healing itself can be the adventure. Monica is one of my fellow contributors to the new anthology, 25 Years in the...
TEEN MOM PROM – Is it a Reward, a Learning Opportunity, or Something More?
On Monday, a Denver Post columnist wrote an article about this spring’s first-ever prom at Florence Crittenton High School for teen mothers, and the article elicited negative comments that so upset me that at first I was at a loss for words. I’ve been working on a...
