Browsed by
Category: Real Stories

Saturday Night at Dirtbox: A Very ’80s Adventure

Saturday Night at Dirtbox: A Very ’80s Adventure

by Trish Cantillon I came upon my teenage daughter watching The Breakfast Club recently.  It had been decades since I’d seen it, maybe even since its original release in 1985.  Along with the nostalgia and feelings of teenage angst, I remembered my encounter with Judd Nelson at an L.A. club in 1986. Dirt Box was an underground club that popped up randomly on a Saturday night in different sketchy locations downtown. Five dollars got you into the warehouse or loft where…

Read More Read More

The door’s not locked: Letting go of the therapy that saved my life

The door’s not locked: Letting go of the therapy that saved my life

by Genevieve Lowles It was a Friday in May when I made the phone call. A bright and dusty morning, I’d just passed the crowded entrance of Stockwell tube station in London. There are so many people, full of direction and purpose. I’m on the way to work, because it’s 8:30 in the morning, and that’s what I do at that time. My head is full of voices, wordless chattering and the sound of my own uneven breathing. It churns…

Read More Read More

Living with Chronic Illness in My Twenties

Living with Chronic Illness in My Twenties

by Jordan Griffing I had a wonderful childhood, but when I look back on it, I don’t always think of the family trips or the great adventures or the wonderful people who surrounded me. What I remember are the hospitals and doctors’ offices, the television shows and movies I watched when I couldn’t play outside, and the games my mom and I would make up to pass the time. I still vividly remember the day my mom came to pick…

Read More Read More

Woman in the Pit: How I Found Power and Safety at Heavy Metal Concerts

Woman in the Pit: How I Found Power and Safety at Heavy Metal Concerts

by Genevieve Lowles I don’t remember the first time I waded into a mosh pit, but I don’t think it went very well. I have vague memories of my first rock concert in 2004, tentatively throwing up the horns and jumping up and down. It was The Darkness’ UK tour, and my mum had dropped me off outside the venue while she went to the cinema next door to watch the second Bridget Jones film and wait to pick me up….

Read More Read More

More Than Pretty: A Daughter’s Reflection

More Than Pretty: A Daughter’s Reflection

by Trish Cantillon I watched nervously as the nurse flicked the veins on my mom’s arm, trying desperately to get an IV in. “What am I going to do with you, Miss Joaun? These veins keep collapsing!” the nurse said. My mom was recuperating in a rehab facility from a fractured pelvis and newly diagnosed hypertension which came with a salt-restricted diet which she refused to eat. She’d been there for a couple weeks but was not getting any better….

Read More Read More