It's 2021 and time for the monthly fun Flash Fiction Challenge Draw. This year, it's hosted by author Jeffrey Ricker! For January, we had to write a 1000-words max story that was a fairytale set in a studio apartment in a big city, and there had to be a potted plant in the story. Here's …
I feel my characters in these microcosms are always trying to tell me something about myself. When I was drafting Life in the ’Cosm, I was #DisabledAndAlone, so not in community with other Disabled folks. I was frightened, completely unsure about my future. I had been a runner and worked out regularly. Then fibromyalgia pummeled …
Continue reading Noola schooled me in ’Cosm. Xax did in The Stealth Lovers!
Changing gears from booky things, I wanted to discuss why I've recently had to make a decision about receiving physical affection from friends, family, as well as folks I meet at cons. I have fibromyalgia, and its symptoms are getting worse for me each year. To put it simply, hugging people who aren't my husband …
SPLAAAAT! That was the sound of my existence two weeks ago. I'd been juggling different assignments and got to the point where my brain went on strike. I literally couldn't make any decisions about work-related things. My mind and body united in a resounding, "NOPE!" By now you all pretty much know I'm a disabled …
Continue reading I took a March break for self-care. Here’s what I learned.
My poem, Invisible, was published on Lady literary magazine. It's about living with fibromyalgia. You can read it here! Image: Ecology Landscape Stock Photo, by Witthaya Phonsawat.
After years of needlessly suffering, I finally bought a rollator, which is a walker with a seat and wheels. I named it Noola, after the feisty character in Life in the 'Cosm. Fellow author Jamieson Wolf said he was glad I named it that because, as he stated, "Noola would roll!" Noola and I have been …
Ever feel like everyone's writing but you? I do. Now that I’m published and have all these new writer friends and acquaintances on social media, I’m able to read updates about their word journeys. To me it feels like they’re constantly writing. Meanwhile, I’m all like, Yeah, I need to lie down now. After working intensely on Life in …
Disclaimer: This is my personal story and should not be substituted for medical advice from a physician or trained professional. I have copious amounts of self-confidence, teetering on a get-a-room-with-yourself-already conceit. Not the slightest blush of humility or humiliation can be found on my cheeks as I talk about my mental illness. Now, my self-worth is …
Continue reading An Unusual Symbiosis: How My OCD and I Have Learned to Work Together
In 2014, things were so bad for me, I was sure we needed to move. I couldn't get up and down the stairs without wanting to cry. The thought of me once run-walking five days a week to now barely being able to take steps without a cane freaked me out. I felt panic-stricken. My sleep was atrocious because of experiencing pain levels 8 and 9 on a frequent basis. All my activities had come to a halt. I was practically house-bound. And since I am an extrovert, the loneliness was unbearable.
Fibro is like a Sith Lord of the Dark Side of the Force. Except maybe more hissy-fitty and unpredictable.
Cait Gordon—author and editor 