mental health journalist
Songs can tear us apart and then apologize; build us up. Music has the power to heal. Within its crescendos we cry and inside its lyrics we soar.
These are the songs’ stories that show the power of music, specifically when it comes to figuring out who we are and where we fit in with respect to our personalities.
My husband and I drove to Atlanta in a time machine to see Marilyn Manson at the Tabernacle on May 20, 2025. By that, I mean I went to recreate my experience of following the band’s first headlining tour for the band’s 1994 release Portrait of an American Family, when I was a teenager and…
I decided this morning to listen to Ugly Kid Joe’s “America’s Least Wanted.” The idea grew out of the music that is videos playlist, which is a collection of songs first introduced to me through video. Some of the songs I had been familiar with before seeing the artist’s music expressed visually. That has shifted…
I think I was 13 when I hosted an “end of the world” party with Jack Daniels drinks to celebrate summer vacation. I swear I don’t remember how we got the Tennessee Whiskey. Of course, I soaked my anxiety and brought a mixed drink of depression and teenage hormones to the party. I stirred alcohol…
There’s no going back, literally. Time machines are a worse idea than self-driving cars. But we can return to old ideas and revive ancient project ideas. “Let’s start a business!” I’ve said to more than a few people over more than a few years several times in my life. you don’t need someone to be…
Bon Jovi brings a flood of memories to my mind. I mean, the band had about a billion hit songs between my elementary and middle school years. I’m pretty sure four of the 10 songs on “Slippery When Wet” were incessantly played on the radio. Surely, you’ve heard “Livin’ on a Prayer” more than once….
My return to writing in journals was like a return to active drug addiction after a handful of relapses with my drug of choice: the pen. I grip the barrel of the pen tightly between my fingers, and press the ballpoint tip and empty the ink chamber. Music didn’t have everything to do with it;…
I’m not from New York and I don’t live in Atlanta, but they’re my landmarks. An island city and a landlocked one. There are 27 landlocked states. Of course. But Georgia isn’t one of them. I just live closer to the city where Sherman began his March to the “Sea” of Savannah, which sits at…
i think the only video game systems ive ever played were Atari, Nintendo, and xbox. That’s how i remember hearing them discussed. Just Nintendo as opposed to Sega. i really dont know. and i never cared until 2007. so it’s completely ironic and a little downright hilarious that the first of the “guitar hero” style…
I decided to blog about it. Publicly, because i’m writing a memoir that i am not arrogant enough to think anyone but those closest to me might care to read. and, partially, because i want to include digital elements like this playlist of music that is videos that i wrote about in the cheesecake and…
yes. artistic vision uncompromising. remember when music video was the main introduction to new music? #filteryourfeed Burgers slathered in grilled onions, provolone cheese, and bacon. A sweaty, salty treat packed with protein. And fat. “Make healthy choices” when the road forks in front of you. A devil on one side. Hm that side looks tasty,…