Salee Reese

Not to Upset the Family Bully, but . . .

I just have to share something with you. As a writer, I follow several blogs, one by author Kristen Lamb. She captured my attention in a recent post about bullying. Actually, she’s been cranking out post after post on that subject. In one she mentions “family bullying.”  Here’s the quote that grabbed me: For every […]

Latest Wow: Face the Truth About Yourself

“The bad thing about not liking myself is not being able to get away from myself. I can’t just go into the next room.” Anna was being her usual witty self when she made that comment in my office but, sadly, she meant it. Also sad is the fact that a multitude of people feel […]

Don’t Settle for a Ho-hum Life

At a young age, we begin the habit of limping in order to harmonize with friends, our family, a job, a social order.  By the time we’re adults, it’s become so much a part of us that we do it unthinkingly—automatically. To stop doing it now would be jolting because we’re used to it. But […]

Latest Wow: We Can’t Always Snap Out of It

Brad has suffered from clinical depression for many years. Therapy and medications have helped some, but not entirely and not consistently. There are days when all he wants to do is stay in bed. On other days—his good days—he’s active and highly involved with the world. Would he like to feel that way every day? Of […]

Thoughts of Suicide

In my previous post, Banished from Her Mother’s Heart, I talked about Michelle, who was dealing with her mom’s rejection. In this post, I want to introduce you to Scott. Like Michelle, he marched to the beat of his own drum, and likewise suffered rejection, primarily from his dad. Scott’s gay, and his father couldn’t […]

Getting Naked

We all carry around our share of shame-debris. That is, unless we grew up in a perfect environment with perfect parents, perfect siblings, perfect everybody, or—let’s face it—planted on a perfect planet. Recently, I discovered a video where Brené Brown makes us feel pretty normal about our shame. She also makes us feel normal about our […]

The Latest Wow: Military Officer Endorses Tears

I want to share with you a touching email I received from a Naval Officer stationed in Viriginia Beach.  He wrote to me after reading “Tears Are As Natural As Breathing”—the column I refer to in the previous post, “Dare to Cry.” Here it is: “Salee, I just wanted you to know that shortly after […]

Dare to Cry

“Tears are a sign of a soul feeling awake.” — Michael Meade I love that quote because it slams the notion that something is wrong with shedding tears. In truth, something is probably wrong if we don’t. Like so many of us, I learned at an early age that tears aren’t acceptable, and that they stand […]

The Sickness That Affects So Many

I found this article on childhood sexual abuse to be so impactful I just had to share: Thank you for your willingness to share this very personal trauma. May your strength, honesty and courage be contagious.  Salee Read the Article at HuffingtonPost