Dear Recent Mass Shooting Survivors — Love, A Fellow Survivor

I’m just letting you know, for a second, that you’re not alone. There’s more of us out here who get it. And when you have a second to breathe by yourself again, come find us. We’ll be waiting for you with open arms. We’ll walk you through.

How to Respect Gun Violence Survivors on Social Media

A friend of mine requested that I write about this topic, and after seeing a video that's been circulating my social media lately, I decided it was time. When you are a shooting survivor, there are certain things that are hard to see in your feed. At least, there are for me, and I've heard the …

Terror Attack or Shooting? – A Poem

Trigger Warning: Mass shootings, gun violence, graphic depictions of violence. I wrote this poem in response to the talk about the Pulse Orlando shooting being a terror attack because it was perpetrated by "possibly a Muslim". As a shooting survivor, I have a lot of feelings about that. Do not tell me what is a …

Doing Something With My Heartbreak

This is my town. These are my people. My neighborhood. And I'm doing something like this because I believe in it. I have never been a person to just believe in something without putting action to my beliefs. This is my way to say, to myself and my community - "You are safe here. We're here with you."

Supporting Victims in the Aftermath of COS Shootings

In light of both of the recent shootings here in Colorado Springs, I think it is important for the community to know how victims are impacted, and how to move forward.

Let’s Talk… About Gun Control

I've heard so many stories in the past 2 weeks. Stories that I am honored to carry, and that you can go read in the comments of my blog. I've had amazing conversations with people I would have called "the enemy", had I continued to react out of pain. At this point, that means much more to me than being right. I don't want to be on the "right" side of this discussion. I want to truly meet people and hear their heart.

Dear Congress – Sincerely, A Mass Shooting Survivor

I write you this letter so that you can see the face of a survivor. I write you this letter as someone who saw with my own eyes the horror of a mass shooting, a shooting that took the lives of my twin and younger sisters and injured my father in December 2007. And most importantly I write this letter to open a dialogue about the role that gun violence has played in our country.

Shell

I am sharing a very vulnerable piece of my heart today, over on the blogging collective I'm involved with: The Sisterwives. I would love it if you would please go view this piece. It took a lot of guts for me, both to write it and to record it. It's not something I often make …

Late Have I Loved You – 100th post

(My twin sister loved this painting.) I miss my twin. I've missed her like hot, searing fire lately... right down to the bone. My skin melting off, charred ash... and the bones still ache, and the ash still smokes from the ground, sending up aching like incense to the sky. These times come without warning, …