If you’d asked my 20-year-old self, she would have told you that happy marriages didn’t really exist, or at the very least, were quite rare. Most of the marriages I had seen were two people eroded by compromise over many years, each person being less than who they...

I began having visions of moving to California in 1998, and I mean literal visions – I would see myself in places in California I had never been to before and couldn’t possibly have known what they looked like. I knew down to my toes that I was moving there at some...

Chicago was wearing on me. The weather, crime, violence, and inequities… I was no longer thriving there, and I was getting extremely restless to move. But my business with Chicago wasn’t done yet, and the people there still had more to teach me. It turned out that the...

My transition out of Rennie life back into conventional society was messy. Still a ship without navigation or a rudder, I cruised through different jobs; I helped write and produce a play, acted in a few shows, tried to design costumes, worked in a health food store...

Most people don’t know what Orthodox Christianity is. I’ve been asked many times if I’m Jewish. No, I explain, our rituals are the same Christian rituals that were created 2000 years ago. We sing, chant, and recite prayers in Ancient Greek. Our churches are ornately...

After I graduated from Northwestern University, I floundered. Like many other Super Over Achievers, I had been so committed, focused, and intense during my four years that when all that structure suddenly evaporated, I was lost. I was a multi-passionate person, and I...

I lucked out when I got to college. After surviving a stressful and complicated home environment, I was blessed to land in the best possible place for me – a dorm filled with loving, fun artists, musicians, actors, and dancers. We had Rocky Horror Picture Show...