We are blessed with a small but fabulous choice of pubs and eateries near where I live. It’s a tourist haven for six months of the year, attracting people from all around the world.
It also draws people home from all around the world, to reunite with loved ones, have the craic, maybe an oul “dalliance” or two… maybe a bump of coke…
I recently read a non-fiction book about a colleague that was deeply chilling – though not, truth be told, terribly surprising. Of course, not every therapist is abusive, coercive, or amoral like the individual described in that book. And, on paper, this colleague looks perfectly fine. (Plus, oddly, I owe my return to writing to them.)
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I’ve been doing other things lately – staying away from writing, and from posting on social media as much as I used to. A couple of people have expressed curiosity about that – and here’s what I tell them:
Continue readingThere are a few reasons. I’ve been pondering each of them this morning, coffee in hand, wondering how best to fill the unexpected gap created by two cancellations – courtesy of this year’s remarkably efficient flu virus.
I’ve been asked a few times since it aired if I’ve met kids like Jamie. Truth? I have, yes.
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Yesterday a guy explained to me that most women would be up for crying rape if they thought the guy they just had sex with had money.
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I was, still am a little, in two minds about posting this. But here it is. Over a week old. Because technology and I have a difficult relationship at present.. (as in, I hate it… and I think it hates me…) Maybe it’s best I had time to calm down. I’ve edited out some expletives…but
I am still nauseated by the ConorMcGregor story. Not just by what he almost certainly did, and his whiny rantings after being found liable. But also by the sadly predictable onslaught of misogyny directed at both his victim(s) – and his partner. No doubt in some sad corner of the internet someone’s blaming his mother…
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“I’m sorry” – powerful words aren’t they?
The best thing about saying “I’m sorry” is that it does all of these things:
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This is more of an announcement-for-parents-of-teens than my usual blog-style email for everyone on my mailing list. I’m writing to tell you that I’m making a significant change to my practice which might be relevant to you and your teen.
I’m aware that there are many parents among you who are deeply concerned for your teens’ emotional wellbeing. That you’ve been searching for support for them and are possibly on multiple waiting lists – maybe even mine.
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There was this young woman who was living with her partner and she decided that for their first Christmas together, she wanted to cook Christmas dinner the way her mother taught her. Partner, delighted, sat back and let her do the work and off she set, delighted with herself.
There’s a lot of talk of tradition at Christmas isn’t there?
The food, the shopping, the gifts, the visiting, the dreaded relatives…
But despite tradition, things always change. Usually without our consent. And some of those changes can be so jarring.
A friend recently asked me if I’d write a piece about loss and bereavement for Christmas. And something weird happened to me when he said it. I felt a block. I reflected on it on and off the past few weeks, wondering had my brain actually finally been emptied of words? Or worse, was it broken? Why wasn’t I flinging open my laptop to release the flow of unedited thoughts as I normally do?
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