Robin Williams is dead. He left behind a world of grief, even though 99.9-percent of us never met him. We knew him, though, as much as we can possibly “know” anyone through a lifetime of work. All of this grieving is about losing Mork, Mrs. Doubtfire, Patch Adams, and My Read more…
It couldn’t be more ironic if we had been reading lines from a script. Today’s early morning drive along Route 7 was pleasant enough, as I wound my way from Morgantown, W.Va., to Kingwood. It even included a serene interlude with an old friend at a Reedsville café. From there Read more…
Sometimes they’re angry and sometimes they’re sad. Many times they simply want to ask if I’m happy now. Or say they hope I am. These are my readers, and they are men. They are the men who read my memoir, Sister of Silence. Not a few of them were once Read more…
Denny Ervin was a bad man. Even his family said so. They loved him though, like most people do. After all, blood is blood. He wasn’t always bad, though—and maybe he still isn’t. Who can really say for sure? I can’t recall him being bad in school. Truth be told, Read more…
Three days from now, many of you will sit at a kitchen table enjoying fellowship and food. Or you will gather around a Christmas tree shredding wrapping paper, hoping to see what gifts await. But somewhere, the stress will be too much, and a weapon will be pulled out–one man’s Read more…
One of the best rewards for writing—since it’s rarely the money—are the letters and emails I receive, like the following. Each one always contains some nugget of wisdom, and this one—from a Southern belle of just 76—contains many. It reminds us that for most women, life today is much better Read more…
Many years ago as a young news reporter, I learned what happens when a government agency attempts to violate their employees’ right to free speech. They live to regret it. Almost without exception, it pays to be painfully honest when faced with a sensitive situation—such as the death of a Read more…
Following the very public execution of her mother at a Morgantown, W.Va., Wal-Mart parking lot, three-year-old Faith Mitchell is nowhere to be found. Her father and grandmother fled their Harrison County home months ago, taking the toddler with them. They did this not long after Shannon Stafford’s foster family fought Read more…
That just about says it all. But it certainly doesn’t tell the backstory. I think I’ve been speaking in public since I was about ten. Rarely do I get nervous. My TED talk was different. Maybe that’s because you know the status given to TED talks. Okay, so this wasn’t Read more…
It isn’t going to be easy and every day will be a struggle. Maybe not a physical fight to survive but certainly a psychological one. Some days you will do battle just to be happy. From time to time you will even look back and think dying would have been easier. Read more…