An excerpt from Alright, Let's do this one last time.
Alright, let's do this one last time.
I have wanted to be a writer since I was 6 years old. I met my best friend in the hallway of a Mormon church when we were both 12 years old. We got married in a Mormon temple when we were 21. He got a degree. I did not.
We had three daughters: Margaret Zuzu, Viola Honey, Brontë Fig. I learned to write at my kitchen table while my children napped. This was not idyllic, I almost lost my mind.
My husband and I left the Mormon church when we were 35. We took our daughters with us. I kept writing. My work is taught in universities that would never accept me as a student.
I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in 2025. I was 40 years old. My breasts were amputated. I would cut off any part of my body to stay here with my daughters. I went through aggressive chemo and radiation therapy. I will be heavily monitored for the next few years as recurrence rates are high.
I still want to be a writer.
Other Places to Find My Work
Publications like Harper's Bazaar, Columbia Journalism Review, The Gloss, Culture Study, and Slate.
Books like Jessica Grose’s Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood, Katy Kelleher's The Ugly History of Beautiful Things and Pooja Lakshmin’s Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included)
Podcasts like BBC Radio 4 The Coming Storm, Vox’s Today, Explained, NPR’s It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders and documentaries like The Rise and Fall of LulaRoe