Artists Statement:

I am inspired by the voices and experiences of people, who in solitude carry the voices and experiences of the world. My narrative gives rise to the unheard voices of the invisible, and hopes to express their emotions by touching hearts in the interest of creating social change with engaging and provocative story. My words are an inquiry into place, memory and meaning. I write to give voice to this Sagittarian woman-child, and I write to help others hear their own voice. I write to remember where we’ve been and to capture the dreams of where we’re going.

“The Ones Who Lived” excerpt:

It was the year the lights went on at Wrigley Field. The year the Sears Tower opened. The year Gerald Ford took office after Nixon resigned. The Godfather was the best picture and “Kung Fu Fighting” and “The Way We Were” were top songs, although that’s not what was playing in this apartment on Ridge Avenue on August 19th, 1974. There was more “Midnight Rider,” and “Cat’s Cradle.” If the TV was on it played All in the Family or Saturday Night Live, even General Hospital.

The sun blared on this 90° day, but inside it was overcast and dreary as always. Junkies like it that way. And there were junkies in this apartment. Not the average garden variety heroin addicts of the day with dirty teaspoons (although they were there), or eyedroppers with rusted needles attached. These were FDA approved, pharmaceutical junkies, complete with sterile packaged needles in bulk so everyone could have their own if desired, however it rarely was. Needles were conserved, shared and re-used, reducing the necessity to leave the cave. Venturing outside, amongst the living, wasn’t enticing – in fact was abhorred – transforming those beyond the nicotine stained walls into the diseased.