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Black and Depressed

Writer and mental health advocate Therese Borchard interviewed me and it made it to the Huffington Post. Check it out. According to Raymond DePaulo, Jr. M.D., Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, African-American populations do not have higher rates of depression in the U.S. However, the statistics may be skewed because…

The Miscarriage Chronicles: Motherhood With Depression
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The Miscarriage Chronicles: Motherhood With Depression

I wanted to be pregnant if only for the possibility of helpful hormones. “Pregnancy is great for some women with depression,” my psychiatrist says. “The hormones can help.” I think of my women friends with depression who tell me that pregnancy nearly killed them. That depression was only alleviated by taking their meds, and hoping…

The Miscarriage Chronicles: Activism Revisited
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The Miscarriage Chronicles: Activism Revisited

I grew up in a state of unionized workers. My mother was in a teachers’ union. My father worked for one of the “Big Three” automakers and UAW is an acronym every Michigander knows. Every year, there were talks of negotiations and talks of strikes. The only thing worse than buying “a foreign car” is…

Talk Back
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Talk Back

My parents called it “talking back.” Some people call it “sassing.” It’s that willful behavior that children have when they just have to respond to what they’ve been told—sometimes with attitude, snarky upturn of lip or obvious petulance. The admonition not to “talk back” is a few steps from the adage, “children should be seen and not…

The Miscarriage Chronicles: The Loss Of Blood (part 2)
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The Miscarriage Chronicles: The Loss Of Blood (part 2)

I long became comfortable with bleeding. The Red Tent, Honoring Menstruation and Sacred Woman guided me into a healthy relationship with my womanhood, my womb and the cycles of the moon. I didn’t know what to do when I stopped bleeding. It felt like weeks before I got to a pharmacy, asked if brand name…