I was born in Santiago, Chile in 1949. It was a turbulent time in my country and the surrounding nations. The economic and political instability meant that living conditions were very challenging and sadly my home life was also very unstable. My parents had a very volatile relationship that was made worse by my father’s infidelity. My mother suffered prolonged periods of depr....
I was born in regional Victoria, the youngest of three girls. Our family was close and loving and my parents worked very hard to provide a great life for my sisters and I. When I was five years old my best friend died. This was the first time I had ever experienced deep grief, loneliness or rejection. I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t go to heaven with him. Without reali....
About 5 years ago I started an NGO, as you do when your marriage is falling apart and your heart is breaking. A friend in rural Fiji needed help sending her daughter to school, and before too long, a grassroots program was born supporting Girls to overcome barriers to education. My friend became the Fiji Coordinator with her local contacts and networks and I watched her get bus....
I have always liked to have everything “just so”—organized and as perfect as possible. I appreciate the pretty things in life, the beauty in words and creation and song—I’m really not a fan of mess and blood and haphazard! I remember giving birth to my sweet daughter and asking the nurses to “please clean her up and put a bow in her hair”… it might have been the....
I’d been single my whole life. I had never been on a date, I’d never been kissed, I’d never held hands, I’d never had anyone show any expression of interest in me what-so-ever. At 28 years of age, I was remarkably single. Of course everyone’s natural solution to my singleness was to try online dating. Fueled by a mix of exasperation and curiosity I signed up so I coul....
