Love As a Four-Letter Word

My aunt gave up her daughter for a chance at love. Can’t remember which marriage it was – there were seven in all – but he didn’t want children, so she just asked around if someone would take M, then sixteen. A few relatives tried, but my cousin, the depths of whose rejection is unfathomable, strayed […]

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Looking For Marital Advice From Reality TV

I’m obsessed with the television reality show:  Married At First Sight.  The show promotes itself as a social experiment:  over 30,000 singles apply to have experts find them a suitable spouse, out of which, six are chosen.  It’s a bit like coming across a car accident, and not being able to tear your eyes away; […]

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No One Will Ever Love You

A secret:  I had to teach myself how to receive love. Born fifth of my mother’s six children, I was unexpected – an ill-advised accident, given the difficulties my mother had in previous child births.  Conceived during a tumultuous time – after the father of her first children abandoned her, beaten and penniless – I […]

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First Hurdle Cleared

Just returned from the hospital, having left my husband in the Cardiac Surgery Recovery Unit.  He was not transferred to the unit until after 9:00 pm, so while I was able to see and touch him, he was not yet conscious. It is hard to pinpoint the gamut of emotions that have coursed through me […]

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