: About Me

I am a native Texan who has always enjoyed writing. I have a BA in History from Rice University and a Master of Occupational Therapy degree from Texas Woman's University. Unfortunately I didn't have much time to pursue my interest in writing while I was raising my 10 adopted children as a single parent. Now my nest is almost empty and I have time to catch my breath and enjoy the challenge of writing for Helium.

As a parent of special needs kids and as a pediatric occupational therapist, I have a lot of experience with disability issues and mental health issues. My own personal interests include dogs, gardening, outdoor activities, simple living, cohousing, and politics.

My passion is ...

making the world a better place.

I know too much about ...

emotionally disturbed children and the kind of adults they become.

My parents always told me ...

not to read at the table.

My childhood ambition ...

was to be a teacher and to have a horse.

My favorite memory ...

visiting my grandmothers every summer when I was a kid.

Why I write ...

I have a lot to say.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

rain on the window.

My first job ...

working in a dry cleaners.

My best moment ...

is in the future, I hope.

My inspiration ...

my sons Marcus and Gabriel.

Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Madness

12 of 183

Seasons of madness His reality shattered on a night in July. From the tenth floor window of the psych ER, I watched an approaching storm in the distance. The lightning illuminated his visions, And the tumbling rumbling of the thunder Could not drown out the threatening voices. The heat was as oppressive as my despair. One day, many weeks later, the wind at last Turned from the north, bringing a hint of fall, And I drove against it, through parched prairie, To what was known in less enlightened days As the insane asylum. The sun, angled now from the south, Shines on dark brick buildings and...

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