I grew up in a small town in Indiana (a church, in fact) with my parents and two older sisters. It feels like I’ve always been writing. I started writing short stories and novel-length works when I was 13. In addition, I’ve kept a consistent diary since 1990. After graduating from Purdue University that year, I moved to Chicago–a city in which I’d always wanted to live. 

Chicago is where I became who I am. And though I lived in Los Angeles for four years, Chicago is where my heart is. (Er…the burbs of Chicago since 2021.)

I started this blog as an instrument for coping with my husband Ken’s cancer

diagnosis in December 2010. It grew to be both a necessity and a passion for me as he battled cancer before and during his terminal diagnosis. He died on June 1, 2011. Writing here has served me well as a tool for relaxation and focus as I navigate my way through life and create my future. (In fact, it’s initially, why I called it “the xanax diary” because it calmed and focused me.)

In June 2012, just about a year after Ken died, Kallie Kismet joined me on my journey, making me a little family once again. In January 2014, I bought my first home in the same neighborhood–just a couple of blocks from where Ken and I lived. Kallie and I made great friendships in the neighborhood I still cherish today.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused me to feel a little itchy–claustrophobic–so I sold my condo late in the year and bought a house in the northwest suburbs where Kallie and I have plenty of room.

In December 2022, I had to say goodbye to my sweet puppy girl. We had ten-and-a-half amazing years together. And I’ll miss her and be grateful to her forever. Like Ken, she helped me grow and become a better man and pet papa.

I continue my journey in life, writing about the things that are important to me or spark something. I’m a believer in transparency and sharing vulnerabilities to show how much we all truly have in common.

Join me, won’t you?