LILY PAD MOMENTS
Anyone who has only come to know me in the past few years wouldn’t know that I used to write a blog that was uplifting and hopeful. When these old writings pop up on my Facebook memories, I’m shocked. I think to myself, “I used to think that way? What’s happened to...
The Smartest Kid in Class
It’s always a perfectly ordinary day when fate delivers its most crushing blows, and that’s the way it was that sunny, January morning. I was walking into the supermarket with my husband Troy, drinking a cup of coffee, when I picked up the L.A. Times. The picture on...
You Listened
How many times had you crept into their rooms at night and pressed your face against them to hear the soft hiss of baby breathing, to feel that warm, sweet milky breath in your ear, always needing that reassurance that yes, mama, those babies in your care are strong...
The Sound
The sound of motorcycles revving in the driveway meant that Uncle Dan was home, and with him came the entourage. One by one they pulled in, taking their place in Dan's court. He'd sit in his King Louie throne in the living room, and maybe his pet owl would be...
Why I Still Have Hope for America
These days, I wake in the morning weary with sadness. The world, politics, fear for my country has worn me down. But then, this morning as my kid is eating breakfast, I see Ellen Degeneres on the back of his cereal box, and I feel hope. Ten years ago, we couldn't even...
Meeting my Muslim Neighbors
Islamic Society of West Valley/ Inter-faith dinnerLast week, my eleven-year old son Evan confided in me that he’s been having some fears about ISIS, because of all that he’s seen on the news, and heard from friends at school. He told me that a few days before, a...
Letter to My Teenage Self
Dear Teen Self,Remember that muggy, summer afternoon when you and your friends sat in a circle on your bedroom floor, your fingers raking through the tired, flattened shag carpet while you all pondered whether you’d still be alive in the year 2000? (And then the...
Sifting Through the Rubble
Lately, I've been sifting through the rubble of what was my former optimistic self, trying to figure out what to make of what I'm filled with since the election, which is mostly this: pain and suffering and despair. Pain is real, and should be acknowledged. Pain tells...
DARKNESS DEFINES THE LIGHT
“Darkness defines the light.” That’s what my yoga/meditation teacher Kristen Eykel said, as we engaged in a deep discussion after a group meditation this morning. The darkness that is sweeping the country and the world right now is defining a message for us: RISE.I...
We Gave Our Son a Stranger Things Birthday Party (and it was awesome!)
Evan, 10 years old, just started middle school. It's been tough for him because he's amongst the youngest and smallest in the school, and since most of his friends went to other schools, he doesn't know many people. He's been miserable since school began...
Writing About Family: Truth and Consequences
Storytelling has existed since the beginning of humankind. Our stories are the connective tissue that holds humanity and possibly even the universe together. Poet and activist Muriel Rukeyser famously wrote, “The Universe is made of stories, not of...
The Magic Hats
On Monday night, when I spoke at my Uncle Dan Haggerty's memorial, I told a version of this story, which captures what he meant to me, to all of us. Thanksgiving 1970. That's me and my cousin Tracey up front, Uncle Dan and our moms and Grandma looking on....
Uncle Dan
It is with a heavy heart that I tell you my uncle Dan Haggerty has died this morning. Cancer.Fucking cancer. You might remember him as Grizzly Adams, the character he portrayed back in the late '70s, but to me he was the only stable father figure I ever had - the only...
How Americans Contribute to the Culture of Gun Violence
Last night, I took my ten-year-old son to see the PG-13 rated movie The Martian. We had just been reading the book, and were thrilled to see something so full of science and math and innovation come to the big screen. We put on our 3D glasses, snuggled into our plush...
Why I Turned to Planned Parenthood
I am pro-family and pro-choice, and I stand with Planned Parenthood. It’s reprehensible for the men of the Republican party to attempt to cut health care funding for women. Many times throughout my life, when I was unable to obtain health insurance, I have relied on...
I’m Hitting The Road- and Might Be In Your Town!
Counting my blessings today for the wonderful readers and book clubs who have been supporting Fire Season since its launch in April. It's been a fun whirlwind- from events in Arizona and L.A. to radio events, a Huffington Post Live interview and a great night speaking...
What To Do With a Rejection Letter
In Stephen Bishop’s guest bathroom, there is a framed rejection letter from Apple Records, saying that they found his compositions “unsuitable” for their catalog.When you exit the bathroom and walk down the hall, however, you’ll see this -- walls lined with gold...
Love and Miracles
March was the month from hell. It really was. I started to backslide into old negative belief patterns that I was unlucky, that this was my fate – had always been my fate, that bad things just randomly happen to me, etc…But then I stopped myself and said, “No,...
That’s What Friends Are For
As most of you know, I have a new book out about how we lost everything in a fire. One of my favorite chapters in the book is called “The Harvest.” It’s about how, when we were broke and homeless, our community of musician friends rallied around us and put together a...
Hollye and Troy and The Seven Plagues
It’s Good Friday today, although I seriously doubt Jesus would have called it that. Talk about a bad day. With Passover and Easter upon us, I thought I’d share my own tale of the seven plagues. Or is it ten? I don’t know. I just know that recently Troy and I seemed to...
May God Hold You in the Palm of His Hand
Erin, our art teacher Phyllis, me and Anita, Getty museum 2000 -->It’s Saint Patrick’s day, and though I push away the painful truth that she is gone, I can’t get through a single moment of this day without thinking of Anita. Her beautiful Irish brogue, her...
Look Me In The Eye
This week I’ve been reading my friend Nina Gaby’s book “Dumped: Stories of Women Unfriending Women.” I was not surprised to read that many of these breakups of friendships had taken place through emails and texts. Over the years, I’ve had a couple friends “dump”...
Random Acts of Kindness Week
Last week, my friend Sue sent me a message filled with kind and loving words completely out of the blue. She said she had been thinking and feeling these things, and her mother had always told her, "If you're thinking something nice about someone, tell them!"It just...
The Power of Intent
After I was fired last June from Moms Demand Action, I began to pray and envision every day that I would one day work in gun violence prevention for a great organization, and that I would actually be appreciated for the work I do. And that is exactly what happened....