Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Confessions.
Is Your Battery Dead?
Last week was particularly difficult. There was family drama. There was work turmoil. Angst. Anxiety. You name it... By the time Friday rolled around, I felt particularly drained - more so than usual. I'm not unfamiliar with the stress of a fast-paced environment, but everything felt particularly heavy; a lot heavier than usual.
By Debra Cutler5 years ago in Confessions
Tough Love
“She is faking sleep. She does this all the time,” I hear my mother say to my stepdad at the time. Admittedly, I had been reading by the dull glow of my nightlight a few moments before I had heard their creeping. I had thrown the contraband book under my bed behind the strategic clutter and dove under my covers. I willed my breath to be even and steady and tried with all my might not to crack my lids as listened to their tactical approach.
By E. J. Strange5 years ago in Confessions
MY MOTHER, MY AUNT
My mother and I always had a very unusual relationship. My mother gave birth to me while she was going through her change of life or menopause if you prefer. I was the last of 7 children with a 25-year age span between the first and last child. My mother was an incredibly quiet woman, a very reserved classy woman. She never spoke much! As a youngster I would have to pry a conversation out of her. However, she was always evasive with her answers and her answers always left me with another question that would also go unanswered. I always thought that I was my sister’s child for you see my sister moved to California right after I was born. In the 50’s, a lot of this was hidden to protect the mother of the child. However, what my mother revealed to me later in my life, on her death bed; was the most disturbing yet appreciated truth that helped me to understand her, her decisions, and helped to mold my path in life.
By Linda Chandler-Jacobs5 years ago in Confessions
42
Can I be honest with you? Ten months ago I thought about killing myself. It was only fleeting and it was enough to scare me into doing something about it, but it was there. This is the first time I’ve written about it, mainly because I'm still processing it myself: why did I, with no history of mental wobbles and as someone who’s always been calm and in control of everything in his life, stand on a bridge at three in the morning and consider throwing myself into the river? It's an ongoing process. Even as I sit here tapping on the keyboard I constantly pause for reflection, trying to tease out the reason from a tangle of half-understood emotions.
By Emre Grub5 years ago in Confessions
Pete
Hey I’m Atlas the Kid. I’m a 20-year violinist, songwriter, writer and recording artist. Like fire, mankind discovered music in the dark. With patience and curiosity we grew to understand its power and with it we became enlightened. Today I wanted to take some time to talk about my last EP and put down some thoughts on the music. Mostly because some folks think April should be happier music. I say, Nah.
By Atlas the Kid5 years ago in Confessions
The Pain of Others
Did we have space? Who had case capacity? What options did the survivor have for government benefits, for immigration relief, for medical care, for legal protections, for help with their children, for work, for future housing? Did we have any funds left for an emergency hotel or Safeway gift cards? Could anyone else make it to their court hearing next week? How could we support an undocumented survivor in leaving abuse, given that their abuser had a gun, routinely threatened to report them to ICE, and that the survivor was completely opposed to involving law enforcement? What about the survivor who wanted a divorce, but felt they couldn’t separate from their abusive spouse until their joint asylum case concluded? Who could we report police misconduct to, or discrimination we encountered while interacting with district attorneys or court personnel? And as we tried to untangle all the different logistical aspects of someone’s case, how could we also help alleviate this person’s suffering, hold their trauma, affirm their rage, ease their despair, help them feel less alone?
By Shewriteshere5 years ago in Confessions
How To Make An Album No One Will Hear
Step One - Take Piano Lessons Because Your Mom Says So You’re sitting at the piano. To your right are about twenty-five or thirty expectant faces. Bored fathers, calm mothers, fidgety siblings. Your own mother and brother are in the front row, smiling encouragingly. Your brother’s already had his turn. He’ll come away with second place this year for his rendition of a much-simplified Can-can by Offenbach.
By Eric Dovigi5 years ago in Confessions
