By: Suzanne Maiden None of us know when will die. Most of us don’t know how we will die. When someone has a catastrophic disease, this awareness is acutely activated. I am living on borrowed time. I am a two-time cancer survivor. For whatever reason, my body grows deadly tumors. So far, my oncologist has successfully cut […]
Holding Your Partner Emotional Hostage
Stephanie from Louisiana called and asked how she can “get over” her spouses previous poor financial decisions that they finally are recovering from. Stephanie can’t “let go” of her spouses mistake and admits she constantly monitors his every move and reminds him of his prior poor judgment. How can she move forward? Dear Stephanie: When […]
SPANAIR DISASTER: An Insider’s Experience
By: Suzanne Maiden Another plane crash. One hundred-fifty-three are dead, and thousands begin to grieve. Broken hearts bleed as pieces of mangled bodies and bits of aircraft parts are “bagged and tagged” and carried off to a make-shift morgue. Unfortunately, I am a card carrying member of the ‘losing a loved one to an aviation […]
Substance Abuse Recovery and Your Partner
By: Suzanne Maiden When your partner is in recovery for substance abuse for either drugs or alcohol or both, the supporting partner should abstain. Period. I know many couples who have a partner in recovery and continue to use, specifically alcohol. I hear, “Why should I stop drinking? I’m not the alcoholic?” I do not […]
Jealous Spouse
Dear Zanny: So I woke up at 6:30 this morning to find my husband at the kitchen table already working. It is rare for him to be up this early, and even rarer for him to be working so soon, so I asked him what’s up. He says he’s been up since 5 AM because […]
Body Disfigurement
by: Suzanne Maiden My body is no longer beautiful. I am disfigured. Cancer surgery to remove a fist-sized tumor that attached itself to my lower spine, hip, and back of my stomach muscle – left my body rearranged. What a humbling, deflating reality. My right hip is significantly bigger than my left because the surgeon stuffed […]