Andrew Solomon Far From The Tree

My baby boy died the same day he was born- January 12, 2013 as a result of undeveloped kidneys and underdeveloped lungs. Reading Andrew's book has brought me great comfort; we all have loss in this life. One line in particular has been a revelation, "it takes an act of will to grow from loss." Thankfully, through his insightful words, I have been able to realize my burden will not go away unless I…

Matthew Shepard was murdered in October of 1998. This was done because he was gay. He died alone, tied to a fence on the Wyoming range. He was a thoughtful, kind person and he left us at 21. I wrote a mini-poem for him and am absolutely convinced that Matthew's memory endures:

Matthew Shepard wide the sky, long and blue before my eye, endless you are, yes you stand me up, never really…

I was honored to meet Andrew, at a fundraiser that he and his partner John, hosted for my friend Spencer's film project related to Our Little Roses in Honduras. I felt so grateful to him and for his book and was blessed to be able to thank him face to face.

For about a year I was working on a memoir about my only sibling and our relationship. She has DS and we were born less than a year…

Cheryl was my first girlfriend. Actually we were both about 6 years old at the time. Her parents lived across the street just off the public square from my grandmother. Whenever my parents took me to visit my grandmother, I was urged to go across the street to see Cheryl. I would hesitatingly walk across the street and stand on the sidewalk by the rock wall around Cheryl's house and wait for someone…

My son, John, is 31 years old and has been diagnosed with multiple leaning disabilities, RSD, Epilepsy and Schizophrenia. I believe he has been living with many of these conditions since he was 5 months old. In spite of his challenges he is living independently, speaks at local mental health conferences and has received training as a Peer Specialist with the goal of working in a field where he has…

My husband and I are the proud parents of two sons and a daughter. Our two sons are 23 and 21, respectively. Our daughter is 17 going on 30 and has been our daughter for close to three years. We didn't adopt her—she is our beloved daughter who was born a natal son.

DJ came out to her brother, who informed my sisters, a lesbian and a child specialist, both left leaning, and the four…

I was put up for adoption and abused on a dairy farm. I was adopted to save a marriage. I was sent to the barn at age 5 as my mother despised me. I was worked to the point of exhaustion and beaten daily...this is literally 1/2 mile from where painter Grandma Moses lived. I'm now 47 with a wonderful family. I have battled addictions and embraced recovery. But I believe that child slavery is an ongoing…