PinnedMember-onlyYou Need To Ask Yourself This One Relationship QuestionTo know if your relationship is healthy or unhealthy — By the time I sought relationship counseling I was in deep. You know what I’m talking about. He’s the love of my life and all that good love stuff. It was all about him. How could I reach him? How could I live without him? …Love4 min readLove4 min read
Published inHello, Love·PinnedMember-onlyHow to Know When It’s Too Late to Save a MarriageThis short business story might give you that answer — As a marketer, I once consulted with a car wash that was losing money in one location and breaking even in another. It was no small task. The car wash business is a cash cow for owners but employee pay is minimal. I was walking into a business that had…Relationships6 min readRelationships6 min read
Published inILLUMINATION·PinnedMember-onlyI Am the Mother of BoysWhy you shouldn’t ask if I miss having a daughter — I’m so sorry,” says the voice on the phone. “Why?” I ask. “That you didn’t have a girl.” “Why are you sorry?” I say. I’m in the hospital. I’ve given birth to my second son. He is hours old. I can’t believe the words I’m hearing. …Motherhood4 min readMotherhood4 min read
Published inILLUMINATION·PinnedMember-onlyI Lost Everything I OwnedBut this is what made me cry like a baby — I’m walking my dogs this morning when tears fill my eyes. It’s been a month. I shouldn’t feel this sadness. I tell myself I’m being silly. I lost my home in a divorce. I lost 4,500 square feet of belongings. I lost a beach house and a rental property. …This Happened To Me5 min readThis Happened To Me5 min read
Published inAbout Me Stories·PinnedMember-onlyAbout Me — Colleen Sheehy OrmeI have always been motivated by love — I call myself a southern New Yorker much to the dismay of my true Nu Yawker buddies. I blame it on my native Brooklyn parents and a large Irish brood that makes The Big Apple home. I am also a declared Jersey girl despite the protests of my Sea Isle…About Me4 min readAbout Me4 min read
Published inBeloved·3 days agoMember-onlyHow Do Women Protect Themselves When They Get Married?The important divorce conversation married women need to have — “You seem smart,” says the woman. As if being dumb were a prerequisite for getting screwed in a divorce. It’s not. Beautiful, smart, capable women get cheated on or cheated out of their life savings every day. …Relationships5 min readRelationships5 min read
Published inBeloved·3 days agoMember-onlyHow Do You Know When It’s Time to End a Relationship With Someone You Love?These 5 things are an indicator you should run — We make relationships more complicated than they are. It’s like parenting. If only we stuck to a few cardinal rules it would be easier. But we get bogged down in the day-to-day and exhaustion wears us down. We’re trying to do it all. We’re trying to keep it all together. …Relationships8 min readRelationships8 min read
Published inILLUMINATION·3 days agoMember-onlyMy Husband Refused to Return to Marriage CounselingAt that point, I should have immediately one thing — I always say my marriage didn’t suffer sudden death like an affair. It limped along with the symptoms of long-term illness. It didn’t deter me. I’m not a quitter. I’m a fixer and a rescuer. This ant was going to move her rubber tree plant. “I’m not going back,” says…Relationships3 min readRelationships3 min read
Published inThe Virago·4 days agoMember-onlyI’ve Earned the Right to Tell My StoryMy exhaustive timeline of leaving an abusively controlling man — I experienced an abusive five-year divorce preceded by several years of my husband uncharacteristically abusing alcohol. I just wanted our marriage to work and to heal. And then I just wanted out. My husband had other plans. Or should I say his own abusive agenda? If you haven’t experienced extreme…Relationships6 min readRelationships6 min read
Published inThe Virago·4 days agoMember-onlyI Swore I Wouldn’t Put Up With a Man Who Drank Too MuchThis is why we stay through addiction, affairs, and abuse — I am in college in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It’s my sophomore year and I meet a guy at a party. I’m not interested in him. He doesn’t give up. He continues to ask my roommates about me. A month later, I see him at our college bar. He makes me laugh…Relationships6 min readRelationships6 min read