In the summer, Scott and I carried a couch out of a two-storey home to the U-haul truck we’d rented. It was a sectional that came in three pieces and I honestly hadn’t thought of bringing help along. I figured we could easily do it. It turned out, one piece of this sectional was eight […]
How Many Times Can a Woman Split Open?
by on October 25, 2018 7 Comments
Did she catch a glimpse of what was coming as she split open and pushed him with the strength of horses into this world? In that moment, when life and death and blood and air weave themselves together so inextricably, did she have any sense, then, that he was being pulled into the dark? Or […]
Our Nude Bodies: How Do I Protect My Daughter?
by on October 11, 2018 10 Comments
“If anyone ever touches your private parts, you hit them,” I told her. I’m sure she wondered why her mama was reversing the usual “do not hit” rule. My daughter’s cheeks are still soft with baby chub, though her body has lengthened. I stare at her four-year-old arms and legs sprawled out on the bottom […]
The Prophetic Period
by on September 19, 2018 18 Comments
Gurgle. Rumble. Ooze. Bloat. Expand. Bleed. Weep. Feelings. All of it. Too much of it. Chocolate. Ibuprofen. Netflix. More Chocolate. Rinse and repeat. Menstruation is no fun. The first few days are terrible. The pain is dull yet overpowering. The emotions burn with fury. I have a routine. I cancel all non-emergency plans, buy […]
The Privilege and Pain of This White Female Body
by on August 8, 2018 3 Comments
By Shelbi Gesch As a girl who grew up evangelical, I learned to function in the world in my white, female body. I was taught that the soul was eternal and the body was just temporary, like a candy bar wrapper, something to be eventually discarded. It was the inside that counted; the flaws and […]
