Note: This is Part 3 and the final installment in my series. Part 3, with three key words: writing-saved-life. During my 30s, I played The Asian Babe Who Had It All. There was a hot journalism career and cool husband. We owned a Manhattan condo with marble bathrooms and a fireplace. By day, I ran all over the city, writing …
How writing saved my life: Part 2
Note: Welcome to Part 2 in my 3-part series about how writing saved my life. My father’s fatal heart attack brought a weird peace to our Chinatown apartment. Yet, the tough-love patriarch still lived on in my head. I was 19, and clueless about making my own choices. Eventually, I found my path. But in that moment, there was only …
How writing saved my life: Part 1
This is Part 1 of a 3-part series about me, writing and how writing saved my life. Everyone needs to write — everyone. By the time we get to Part 3, you’ll know why your words are so important, too. Okay. Here we go… My Chinese immigrant parents expected my birth to make them lucky. Instead, they felt cheated. For …
How to end a relationship
I write to you now as A Newly-Single Woman. It’s the last thing I want for myself. But bloggers must carry on. So here I am, trying to feel it in order to heal it… Three weeks ago, my partner and I had The Talk that led to relationship breakup. We agreed on a day for him to pull out …
How to talk to your teen about her clothes & save your relationship
My friend emailed me, desperate. Her first-born child, 13, stormed off to school in short-shorts and a teeny tank top. This, after a huge mother-daughter fight over inappropriate clothes. My friend wanted advice. I was stumped. But when I turned to Facebook friends for help, they responded with inspiring insights that I wish were available when my own daughter was …
The smartest thing I’ve learned to do: Ask for help
My parents taught me to solve my own problems. Never go to outsiders for help. In breaking this childhood cycle of isolation, I’ve learned to reach out with wonderful results. But the struggle remains: I still find it hard to ask for help. In times of need both large and small, my reflex is to save face and shut people …