I was taught from the earliest age that the most important thing was to be nice to everyone, to put my needs second to others', and in short, just to be good. To be fair, it was mostly religion in the deep south talking, not my parents, who have long since found deeper meaning outside the confines of the Baptist faith. Still, the message that selfishness is sinful was etched into my psyche, and it is hard to erase. For starters, my name is Sharon, and there is nothing that ma

I find myself in this magical moment of my life: writing to you from the kitchen table in my new home while watching my man and his son standing at the counter eating mango for breakfast. The reason this moment feels so dream-like is that I yearned for it with all my heart for many years. I felt the absence of this moment many times -and I wished it away - but it would not let me go. I endured two years of online dating - most of which was great fun - but full of small disapp

When it comes to poetry, no one can rock my world and open my heart like Mary Oliver. Her voice is both vulnerable and fierce, and she knows how to remind you of what matters. What doesn't matter to Mary Oliver is what other people think when you 'wander away, from wherever you are, to look for your soul'. We have all experienced times when we know we need to take bold action to free ourselves, and people will disapprove mightily. But if we don't act, we will die while we are