An interesting experience happened to me a few weeks ago, when an acquaintance who knows that I’ve written a memoir asked me how my business was going. I innocently responded by telling him I was starting a course. “Oh?” he said, seemingly intrigued. “What’s the course about?” “It’s called How to Come Out from Hiding,” […]
On Repercussions… Read More »
I’ve spent the last few years writing a memoir about my life in hiding, discovering how it started and where I went. It was my “excavation process,” which gifted me with no choice but to go in the opposite direction. Away from hiding. Back into living. Here is what I know for sure. Hiding is
There’s Safety in the Closet – Hideology™ 101 Read More »
Let’s start with disclaimers: White, Female, Blonde, Gay, Veteran, Middle Class, 50-something, Alive. Now let’s get into the reason for this blog: I know you’re frustrated. COVID has you down. You’re being told what to do. You’re living in a world where you just can’t be yourself. Can’t express yourself fully. Can’t just go out
Dear Frustrated Human, Read More »
It starts with an email, asking me if I’ll come speak to Gender/Sexuality Alliance teenage students in a local high school, for me to share my experience with them as a gay woman. It’s always a Yes. I feel it’s important to share my personal experience with self-betrayal and societal-rejection, and my journey now back
Intersectionality…The Bigger Picture Read More »
In my efforts to follow the Universe’s guidance, this week I spoke to a group of Gender/Sexuality Alliance (GSA) students at a local high school this. It meant a lot to me, and it’s a tiny one step forward in a journey of a thousand miles. The students? Awesome, amazing, smart and kind. Their questions?
I’ll bet you’re thinking, “What the heck! There is no possible way to find any gifts in discrimination…Karen is truly losing her mind. How sad for her.” Hey, I appreciate your concern…it means a lot to me! And you know how I am… I believe that there is always a light shining in the dark. This
Finding the Gift when You’ve Been Discriminated Against… Read More »
A few weeks ago, I started reading the book, When We Rise. My Life in the Movement, by Cleve Jones. The first sentence in the Preface reads, “The movement saved my life.” Cleve (who was mentored by Harvey Milk) was 17. It was 1971, and he was living in Arizona with his parents, and skipping
Why Community Saves Lives… Read More »
One of my first memories was being bit by a dog in my face. I was crawling under a coffee table, probably creeping up on that dog in a threatening way, when it decided to teach me a lesson. I still have the scar. It was Danny’s dog. I found out just a few years
And then the Universe answered my questions, from many angles and in different ways. The question was, “What do you need from me?” Essentially, “Where can I best serve?” You would think that I have heard this response before but, in all honesty, I was in denial. “How will I be received? Who won’t read
LGBTQ+ | Operation “End Suicides” Read More »