When Someone Is Hurting You Don’t Throw More Punches

I have not lost a child, but I know grief. I know what it’s like to have a community come together to offer support and comfort and to celebrate a life taken too soon. I know that this comfort can be the thing that holds you up and keeps you from falling apart when you’re […]

YOUR REBEL HEART

I wrote this a year ago as a guest post for the amazing and beautiful Hasty Words. I’m sharing it again because the death of David Bowie reminded me the importance of being a rebel…

Who’s Raising Who?

 “And you can tell everybody this is your song It may be quite simple but now that it’s done I hope you don’t mind I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words How wonderful life is while you’re in the world” -Elton John, Your Song My brother died 10 days before my wedding. […]

The Thing All Women Do That You Don’t Know About

There’s this thing that happens whenever I speak about or write about women’s issues. Things like dress codes, rape culture and sexism. I get the comments: Aren’t there more important things to worry about? Is this really that big of a deal? Aren’t you being overly sensitive? Are you sure you’re being rational about this? […]

Parenting In A Trigger Happy Country

Sometimes, when my phone rings or I get a text during the school day, my heart stops for a minute. *** At my first high school football game, four people were shot. My parents were horrified and scared. They tried to find a way for me to switch schools. I didn’t want to. I loved […]

Hey School, We Need To Talk

Ahhhh, that new school smell. It’s the smell of fresh starts, new beginnings and a few precious hours a day without someone needing something from us. Don’t get me wrong. I love summer and having my three kids home with me. But in some ways I feel like I’ve been on a three month bender […]

Singularity: Cover Reveal and Book Trailer

The time has come. The time is now. Singularity is the new novel from Helena Hann-Basquiat, with Sara Litchfield, Sandy Ramsey, Lizzi Rogers and Hannah Sears. Singularity is the sequel to last year’s JESSICA — a metafictional look into Jessica’s possible pasts. Singularity is coming August 1, 2015 Singularity is its own novel, and can […]

#1000Speak: Building From Bullying

  Last month we had our first #1000Speak For Compassion event. It was pretty huge. Well over 1000 people participated. It was everywhere. And we’re not done. This month our theme is “Building From Bullying.” And as this post by Lizzi so beautifully says, “In a culture where fear is prevalent, it is easy to […]

The Problem With Girls In Math And Science

  Last year I went to a Parent-Teacher conference with my daughter’s G.T. (Gifted and Talented) teacher. She sang my daughter’s praises. I basked in her glowing words and swelled with pride. Until she said this: “She’s really good in math. Probably one of my best math students. Even better than the boys in the […]

Five Rules For The Jackholes Trying To Ruin Halloween

“All I wanna do is have some fun, I gotta feeling I’m not the only one” -Sheryl Crow, All I Wanna Do  Can we not suck the fun out of Halloween? Can we have one day? One day where it’s just about having fun and there are no guidelines or parameters or judgement or rules? […]