The Quiet Dignity of a Chair
It’s 92 degrees outside, and rising. You’re fanning yourself with an old newspaper, hoping your disposable water bottle lasts until the afternoon ends. You take a sip, knowing you probably shouldn’t yet, but you can’t really help it. The air’s just too hot. The water tastes how heat feels: synthetic, as if the bottle’s plastic […]
From Leaving to Living
Leaving had always felt like a fantasy. Something that happened in movies, not in real life. Not in mine. Growing up in an abusive home strips you of more than just your sense of safety. It takes away your confidence, your clarity, your belief that things could be different. But after years of hesitating, I […]
After Home is Lost, Hope Springs
I thought the worst part of the flood would be the water. Watching it seep under my front door was terrifying. But the hardest part came after. My apartment was declared unsafe. Mold spread. Wires sparked. What the water didn’t destroy, fire damaged. I had no renters’ insurance. No savings. No way to replace what […]
Rising from Abuse
I don’t live in New England, so I’m not someone who can benefit from Mark’s Northeastern Furniture Foundation, and I no longer need the kind of help they provide. But there was a time I did, and I want to write about that time, in case there are New England women out there who find […]
A Hotel Housekeeper starts over
I was a housekeeper in a hotel when COVID hit. The hotel management had to cut back so I found myself without a job. I was not able to find more work and couldn’t pay the rent. So I was evicted. When I finally managed to afford a place, I still didn’t have the means […]
Fourteen feet and one mattress
Yes, I am an animal lover, and I have a service dog as well. My two dogs and my cat sleep with me. They’ve done this for years and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But I confess that the mattress has gotten, well, smelly and stained. I have been wanting a new clean […]
Pieces of furniture, Peace of mind
About a year ago, I fell on hard times. I lost my job of nine years, and with it, any sense of financial security. No longer able to afford my rent, I was forced to move, downsizing to a smaller apartment. My previous apartment had been fully furnished, meaning that I had no furniture to […]