When I initially heard of the concept of falling in love with yourself, I thought it was a fallacy…something that only existed in movies ...

I’ve had years to think about what happened to me as a child. There were times when I wept about it, became angry about it, had questions...

More than Enough is a heart-filled narrative of the struggles and triumphs of the author, Ms. Shirelle "Diamond" Hogans. She doesn't pro...

Twenty-nine years ago, I wound up in the emergency room of a local hospital with a busted lip and severe lacerations on the vermilion por...

As a survivor of abuse, one of the things I find myself asking God is “how do you forgive the unforgivable?” I don’t mean forgiving my ab...

The last girlfriend that I had was between 1978 - 1979. In retrospect, the time that I spent with her seems so much longer. She was a sw...

Claiming your Breakthrough I hear this terminology constantly, most times in sermons or lectures given by motivational speakers. Your bre...

I've heard that abuse, whether it be sexual, verbal, emotional or physical, never goes away. It may get better over time, but the effect...

When I was thirteen years old, I was molested by three different men who used three different methods to groom me into silence. The firs...

When I first emerged on the literary scene in 2011, I quickly learned that there were opportunist hidden around every corner. People tha...

I met Jimmy when I was thirteen years old. He was the so-called boyfriend of a girl that I had become enamored with when I was in the ei...

I normally don’t write about politics in this forum. I always try to reference topics that address issues of mental health that deal wit...

I joined a writer’s group today. It wasn’t deliberate or even intentional. I listened to the various writers carefully, impressed as th...

I found myself thinking about my father this morning. I woke up with him on the forefront of my mind for no apparent reason…and I smiled...

I honestly didn’t know that I was depressed. I had no idea. I moved through life looking at things through a negative lens. I would dr...

After writing “Groomed” I took a long hard look at my life. You know they say that hindsight is always 20/20. I know that what happened...

When I was thirteen years old, I was abused by three different men. The abuse happened back to back; separated by several months or week...

A few years ago, a therapist asked me a question that I couldn’t answer. But since the day that he asked me this question, I’ve pondered...

I have interviewed many women who have been the victim of abuse and sexual assault. I’ve heard their stories and as moved as I was in th...

The Survivor’s Club. It’s a club that I never wanted to belong to. I never signed up for it and it was given to me without my consent. ...