Members Home

A year in review: Reflections, expansion, and growth at 50

By Shay | December 29, 2023 | 1 Comment

I entered 2023 with a profound fear of dying early. I was turning 50 in January—the same age that my mother was when she died (and not even a week after that birthday, no less). Six weeks before her death, I had just turned 31. For 19 years, I lived with this overwhelming fear of turning 50, partly because of …

Read more

Maybe if we have been more vigilant with COVID precautions…?

By Shay | December 21, 2023 | Comments Off on Maybe if we have been more vigilant with COVID precautions…?

If you’ve followed me on other platforms or social media, you might already know this. But if not: I’m one of the shrinking numbers of people who haven’t gotten COVID yet. It’s not because I have some sort of wondrous immune system. No, I got sick plenty over the years when my kids were in school bringing home germs. I …

Read more

Off with your head! Is this really what we’re coming to?

By Shay | December 18, 2023 | Comments Off on Off with your head! Is this really what we’re coming to?

Violence. We’ve gotten so comfortable with violence. So-called Christians wishing for atheists to die horrible deaths. People calling upon others to do violence to trans people just for existing. The way officials strive to build “cop cities” to train police to do harm to citizens in ever more blatant ways, not just for crimes (that rarely deserve that level of …

Read more

Another campus; another bloodbath—When do we do something?

By Shay | December 11, 2023 | Comments Off on Another campus; another bloodbath—When do we do something?

Being on a campus in the United States, whether grade school or middle school or high school or college, seems to be increasingly a roll of the dice. When will your campus finally be visited by gunfire? Will it be when you’re attending or working there or after you graduate/leave? Will it be decades in the future or tomorrow? It …

Read more

Overpowering our kidnappers

By Shay | December 6, 2023 | Comments Off on Overpowering our kidnappers

Last night, I had a lucid dream. It was quite terrifying, given that I was fully aware that I was dreaming but could not wake up. In my dream, I was being driven in a car to the airport. At some point, we are carjacked, and the carjackers kick the driver out but keep me in the car. I ask …

Read more

Tending to our gardens: Stress and burnout

By Shay | November 19, 2023 | Comments Off on Tending to our gardens: Stress and burnout

Several days ago, I received an impassioned plea via Instagram to use my platform to talk more about what is happening to the Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli military. My initial response was one of irritation at being asked once again to do something in addition to all I’m already doing and, in a moment of irritation, I …

Read more

Monday mind droppings

By Shay | November 13, 2023 | Comments Off on Monday mind droppings

I don’t know about you, but last week totally kicked my ass. The human mind, body, and spirit is not designed to go nonstop with no meaningful pauses. I haven’t had a truly restorative and meaningful break from the daily grind since the summer of 2019, when I went away to Kripalu. Sure, I have taken a few days off …

Read more

Angry Black woman and perimenopause (or, Destruction abounds)

By Shay | November 9, 2023 | 1 Comment

I am taking a detour across all my platforms today to talk about aging—specifically, this journey we call perimenopause. For the unknowing, the Cleveland Clinic describes perimenopause as “…the transitional period before menopause. During perimenopause, levels of estrogen, a key female hormone, start to decrease. You may begin having menopause-like symptoms, such as hot flashes or irregular periods. Perimenopause can …

Read more

When hatemongers get uncomfortable: A small victory

By Shay | November 2, 2023 | 1 Comment

In this season of despair, it is easy to get sucked into feeling that we are without hope and that we lack power and agency to create change. Especially as we intake a daily diet of the horrific, which only seems to be ramping up.  I was reminded, though, of the power of our voices and how—when we come together—we …

Read more

Bearing witness: A Maine mass shooting

By Shay | October 26, 2023 | Comments Off on Bearing witness: A Maine mass shooting

I have called Maine home for the last 21 years, and certainly I have often been ambivalent about this state for a number of reasons. Today, though, I write as a Mainer with a heavy heart. One of the state’s nearly one-and-a-half million residents now linked together in our collective sorrow, as we find ourselves grappling with the horrific reality …

Read more

Are you a member?

Be in the know. Members gain early access to new posts.

It’s already happening: Whites only

By Shay | November 13, 2025

The official end of Jim Crow in the United States happened between 1965 and 1968. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and in 1965, they passed the Voting Rights Act, and then in 1968, the Fair Housing Act. These efforts effectively ended Jim Crow in the United States, though the lingering racial animosity …

Read more

It’s already happening: Whites only

By Shay | November 13, 2025

The official end of Jim Crow in the United States happened between 1965 and 1968. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and in 1965, they passed the Voting Rights Act, and then in 1968, the Fair Housing Act. These efforts effectively ended Jim Crow in the United States, though the lingering racial animosity …

Read more

Round Up

A curated list of relevant articles & a peek into what Shay's reading

What's Shay Reading?

Members only get a peek into what Shay's reading and wants to share.

Sample Round Up

By Shay | May 29, 2022

Happy Friday! It’s a gorgeous day up in my corner of the world and way too beautiful to be writing a blog post today. So I present you with the Friday Round-Up a list of blog posts this week from other bloggers that blew my mind. Perhaps if you need to kill some time or have a quiet moment you can check them out. http://ravingblacklunatic.blogspot.com/ Check out this cat, I have been a fan of his work forever. http://www.whataboutourdaughters.com/ Good stuff here as well http://sweetersalt.com/ A Maine blogger who talks fashion and food…the best of both worlds http://paganchild-starmommy.blogspot.com/2011/03/keeping-focused.html A new blog that offers words of wisdom for all of us. http://mscleaver.com/ Another Mainer who for Lent is giving up pants, she is also a crafty gal If you have any links to good blogs, feel free to leave em. It’s my hope to make the Friday Round Up a regular feature at my new home specifically I would live to shine some light and love on smaller bloggers. It’s hard out here in this blogosphere with so many good blogs to choose from and so little time so let’s help everyone get a slice of the pie. I will be back on Monday, at that time I will unveil some ideas I have around monetizing things but You May Also Like: No related posts.

Member Only Posts

Are you a member?

This content is available to Members Only. If you are already a member, you can upgrade to the next membership level for immediate access to this content.

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Private Online Community

Are you a member?

This content is available to Members Only.