Quiet Gifts

Our world is fast and loud.  Seems like all the time accelerating and everyone vying for a spot where we can be seen or at least noticed in the midst of all the chaos. Our children are growing up with a terrible sense of urgency as if everything they do had to happen yesterday inContinue reading “Quiet Gifts”

Good Enough: Why Not Quite is Just Right (for Parents)

I met Judith when her son, Adam, was about 12 years old and was first diagnosed with a psychotic disorder. He had been very hard to deal with for some time but she and her husband had found it difficult to acknowledge there was something medically wrong with him. They had spent many years tryingContinue reading “Good Enough: Why Not Quite is Just Right (for Parents)”

Is the Glass Half Full? How your outlook impacts your kids.

An Australian study supports the hypothesis that an optimistic outlook is protective against the development of depression and other disorders in teenagers. An optimist was defined as : An optimist generally asserts that the good things happening to me will continue to happen in the future and they are of my doing; bad things canContinue reading “Is the Glass Half Full? How your outlook impacts your kids.”

The Energy Ball: What not to do when your kid drops the ball.

Imagine you are watching your adolescent play a game of basketball. Only it’s not any game of basketball. This game is special. Your child is the only one on the court. You are the only one watching but, for whatever reason, this game is really important. The outcome will have an impact on your child’sContinue reading “The Energy Ball: What not to do when your kid drops the ball.”

EDEN: A Novel

A new novel by W. A. Schwartz. EDEN is a story of dark secrets and psychological suspense unfolding over a half-century in the lives of a troubled Louisiana family. On a hot, muggy afternoon, in Eden, a tiny, rural town deep in southeast Louisiana, Construction workers make a hideous discovery. They unearth the decades-old remainsContinue reading “EDEN: A Novel”

Autumn: A Short Story

There’s something wrong with my hands. Lately, I’ve taken to squeezing them into fists at the most peculiar times. When I’m checking out at the grocery store. Face timing my daughter who is away at college. Making love to my husband. My thumbs ache and I’ve noticed the knuckles on my right swell to theContinue reading “Autumn: A Short Story”

Birthday Girl

She stands naked before the full length mirror in the bathroom and sticks out her tongue at herself. Her body looks no different today. She looks like a bald, wet, cat, she thinks, and she runs her palms over her small breasts and down her hips, disappointed they have not changed overnight. She is, afterContinue reading “Birthday Girl”