Women are like trees. As they grow in years they also grow in their power to provide shelter and to live in full bloom. Some people don’t like trees. Trees strike them as messy — they sway and grow chaotically against the perpendicular lines of houses and fences. Some people want to cut down trees, make them quiet, and make… Read More
The smell was overwhelming. Not the sharp sting of hospital bleach, as I had expected, but a sickly sweet lavender smell that clung to the folds of my sweater. The room was warm and bright, the large windows overlooking acres of rolling hills dotted with sheep. My father sat in a recliner chair, the upholstery made… Read More
When I blog, I usually spend more time finding and formatting a photo than I do writing the post. I pay careful attention to my pictures because I know that 63% of social media is made up of images and engagement with images is a whopping 77%. In an online world filled with short attention spans,… Read More
Dear Survivors One of my friends once wrote that everyone has at least three disasters and one apocalypse in their lives. I don’t know you, but I’m almost certain the sexual abuse you suffered twelve years ago was your apocalypse. I’m guessing you might be going through another one right now having your lives dissected in public. I won’t say… Read More
Every few days I scour the pages of seek.com looking for a job. It is a bit like looking for a date on RSVP. I filter out the ones that are too far away, too boring and too conservative. My days of wearing a pencil skirt and blazer are over. But unlike internet dating where… Read More
I’ve been blaming my changing tastes in the bedroom on my midlife hormones, but to be honest, I’ve been this way for a long time. You see, I’m one of those women who like to be sexually ravished. Actually, ravished is too mild a word, I like to be fucked. I’m almost certain I’m not alone,… Read More
April is my least favourite month – the month where there are more bad things to remember than good ones. I should have known undertaking a month-long blogging challenge would be tempting the gods. On the night of 20th April, New South Wales experienced rain and wind gusts as severe as any cyclone. We were… Read More
For a writer, aside from blogging, I haven’t been doing much writing lately. Now that my principle procrastination tool has been taken away from me (the internet), I’ve been forced to find something to do. Since the middle of last week, I’ve been writing a book. It isn’t fiction this time, but a non-fiction textbook… Read More
I’ve often wondered if all the hours I spent reading under the blankets with a torch when I was a kid contributed to my bad eyesight. I’m short sighted – I can’t see anything more than a few centimetres in front on my nose. Too vain to wear glasses, I have worn contact lenses since… Read More
Although I don’t believe in the concept of God as a supernatural being with an interest in the thoughts and action of human beings, I do believe in a collective consciousness. The simplest term to describe this, is to call it the Universe. I see it as the amalgamation of the spirit in all living… Read More
I read in a book once about the difference between a traumatic event and a terrible one. I’ve spent the last couple of hours trying to find the exact words, but to no avail. I thought it was in this book about a chaplain whose job it is to notify people of the death of… Read More
I was taught at church that having sexual desires and/or attracting sexual desire was a sin. They gave it a special name — the lust of the flesh. Human sexuality was seen as a rampaging carnal impulse which must be abolished at all costs. Impure thoughts, even without any action, had the potential to cast you… Read More
It’s been raining since Monday. A low pressure system off the coast has been beating down on us relentlessly, bringing with it winds gusting up to 125 km/hr. We live on a hill, right on the beach. Our dead-end street is lined with trees that have fallen over, taking down the power lines with them. We… Read More
