Love Letters

Good Friday. A day wrought with symbolism - and for a storyteller who embraces ritual as a way to integrate life's experiences, this weekend is always special for me.  Last year at this time, I was living back in my old bedroom at Dad's house, nursing my shattered heart and dealing with the business of dissolving my marriage. As I walked by my old friend the river that Good Friday, I embraced Ritual. I began by shedding pain-laden artifacts, giving them to the mighty Ottawa (which was about to overflow in the great deluge of 2017). Then I sat on its bank, and imagined a future for myself as this new being, separate from Greg. And the only place I could see living that life, was in my beloved little blue house on the river - the home we were preparing to sell. The moment I made that choice, I began a love affair that might never have come, had I not had to fight so hard for my life throughout the long cold winter from which I was emerging. And here, a year later, I stand s...

BONO VOX: -        an alteration of Bonavox, a Latin phrase which translates to "good voice" As I continue my mental health crusade, sharing my experience (good, bad, ugly) in real time, I am honouring a call for the full expression of myself through personal storytelling. I am using my voice to inspire others, battling against any remaining barriers preventing people from seeking help for their mental health. “Nothing to stop this being the best day ever” -        Love is All We Have Left, U2, Songs of Experience I sing all the time. Music has always been there for me in my darkest moments. Specifically, U2 has always been there. I sing under my headphones as I walk (especially fun in the cold winter air!), I sing in the shower, and I sing as I drum in the studio. Until the last few months, I sang quietly. I don’t do that any more. In the dark, cold middle of March 2017, I packed a bunch of bags and boxes,...