Lean In

I’m one of those  people. I was recently discharged from a mental health treatment program through a hospital. A psychiatric hospital. ...

In April, I began a downward spiral into a major depressive episode, and in May, after Al's birthday, I checked into a psychiatric...

After Al’s hemorrhagic stroke on July 9, 2023, we didn’t know how long he would survive. He was a quadriplegic on a ventilator, and he...

It’s Easter, and for the first time in my life, I don’t feel like celebrating. I would ask you to please just read this post without...

I loved the dystopian craze that exploded after The Hunger Games was published in 2008 and the movie debuted in 2012. Katniss, the...

I’ve been nesting. And no, I’m not pregnant. That scenario has far too many problems, so if that was your first guess, set down your...

This question has been asked of me a few times throughout the past 14 years. Sometimes, it’s asked with genuine curiosity; others seem to...

How many of you read my last post? Pretty embarrassing, huh? I mean, talk about cliché. So what if it was cliché ? I am Jen Yarrington....

So, I spent a few weeks at my parents’ house in the UP. It wasn’t a visit as much as it was a frantic, desperate effort not to check...

Before Al had the first stroke in January 2011, I already felt like life was hard. We had four children, ages 11 and down, and I had just...

I had a professor in college who told us this story. He and his wife lived in an oceanside town out east. There was a lighthouse nearby,...

One-third of my family is gone. Out of six people in our family, only four are left on earth. The family that Al and I created almost 28...

Having Al home has required us to be creative with his food. It took some getting used to mutilating all of my husband's food before...

Al was in a skilled nursing facility for five months after his most recent stroke, a hemorrhagic stroke that made him a functional...

Have you ever noticed how much time it takes to have a good Ugly Cry? I know that not everyone is like me, but I am the kind of person...

Consider this my entry (or re-entry) into a writing career. I've been having an extremely difficult time getting back to writing. This is...

She would have turned 21 a few days ago. December 7. She should have turned 21. Instead, she never even saw 20. I hadn't done this so...

Many people have said the second year of grief is worse than the first. I haven't lived enough of it yet to figure out if that's true....

My last post may have sounded kind of harsh when I was talking about the prosperity gospel. I do try my hardest to "judge not" but as I...

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay I grew up in the Catholic church, and it always seemed like there was a lot of talk about suffering....