Our group of six women sat around the conference room table of Waverly Hematololgy and Oncology, the place where I'd received my chemo years before and now participated in the first Expressive Writing Group. Mary Barnard, Office Manager and poet, was our group leader and was certified in teaching the Write to Heal program created … Continue reading Digging Up My Buried Shame
fired from a job survivor
Forced Endings: Struggling in The Gap
When I was a child, I loved finding hiding places. Among them would be a ditch-like den between two hills where I could sink down into that spot, not able to see ahead or behind. The earthen floor and walls were protection from cold and wind, providing a cozy place to play. In last week’s post, … Continue reading Forced Endings: Struggling in The Gap
Enlarge My Territory
The day after I was fired from The Research Company, I packed my suitcase for our family vacation at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. I was in a state of shock, thinking that for the first time in my adult life, I had no job to return to. My husband, David came in and handed me … Continue reading Enlarge My Territory
Looking Back Looking Forward
I study the photograph from four years ago with me standing next to a tall red rock in the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs. It was unusual for me to take my solo journey in April, but that trip was planned around the Pikes Peak Writers’ Conference. On that Monday afternoon, I … Continue reading Looking Back Looking Forward
Sinners and Saints
Pilgrims have traveled to Iona, Scotland for centuries to the Abbey founded by Saint Columba. But before he was seen as a saint, he was recognized as a sinner for leading his Irish clan in a battle where three thousand died. He is every man and every woman; all of us with our shadow side … Continue reading Sinners and Saints
It’s About the Future
I sat on a rock overlooking the Great Smoky Mountains on that Sunday morning in September. In the stillness that was shrouded in fog, I felt the burden of trudging through cancer treatment and my toxic job. I prayed for God to lift me out of that pit, and waited for some sign that God … Continue reading It’s About the Future
Toxic Takeaway
He helped me pack up my office that afternoon, my last, at The Research Company. “You know it’s not you, Connie,” he said and placed the last of my belongings in my trunk. “Just be glad you’re getting out of here.” He was the only co-worker I could trust. Later, I wondered if I really … Continue reading Toxic Takeaway
Connie Rosser Riddle 