Kathie Powell

There’s something cruel about wedding anniversaries after your partner dies. People still call it your anniversary, but it isn’t really. Not anymore. It’s a should have been. Fuck, I hate that. This year would have been 46 years. But it’s not. It’s been four anniversaries without him. Four years of trying to figure out what this day even is now. At first, the anniversaries felt sharp and panicked. I remember sitting on the deck waiting for a sign from him because he promised me he’d meet me...

There is a version of grief that many people learn to perform. The “I’m okay.” The “I’m staying strong.” The polite smile. The quick answer. The version that makes other people comfortable. But grief was never meant to fit neatly into a socially acceptable box. Real grief is layered. Messy. Confusing. Tender. Angry. Beautiful. Lonely. Loving. Sometimes all within the same hour. And when we spend too much time filtering our grief to protect others, avoid judgment, or try to appear “better,” we...

There’s something about texting that can make a stranger feel familiar… fast. The good morning messages. The late-night conversations. The way someone seems to get you through a screen. And before you know it, you feel connected. But here’s the truth we don’t always want to look at: You can feel connected to someone you don’t actually know. Because texting is built on fragments. Pieces of personality. Carefully chosen words. Timing that can be controlled. And what we often do—without...