After the book's hometown stop, our next destination is my hometown.

AKA why Philadelphia was the perfect and ONLY setting for "When Happily Ever After Fails."

That little white guy on the book is no rando dog. Like everything in a writer's life, there's a story and inspiration behind him, too.

I had (have? I don’t know anymore) a male figure who had been in my life since birth. He never took the place of my father, but was a large support to my parents and myself. He has been there through thick and thin, never hesitating to drop anything and everything if I needed him. Then something changed.

It’s a weird question to ask when you know who your mother is, but still long for that pivotal figure in your life.

This is an important fact to acknowledge always, but especially during National Infertility Awareness Week.

People really just want to know you're in their corner.

Happy Book Birthday to “When Happily Ever After Fails”!

It’s the million-dollar question surrounding this book and the parents’ portrayal that no one is asking (but I suspect everyone wants to).

Bad things happen to people all the time, so can’t the same be true of good things?

Because what are we, aside from a bunch of nonsensical stuff shoved into a body?

We may be able to have it all, all at once...we just may not be able to do it lickey split.

I'm not saying it's the ideal, but there's an upside to everything.

Sometimes you see people in a different light when you can feel the shared pain.

How much does our skin color and the ethnicity(s) we identify with impact our experiences? Our opportunities?

For Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d share my real-life meet cute – aka how I met my husband.

Is it socially acceptable to be a professional grudge holder (and should we care if it’s not)?

Don't wait for your own come-to-Jesus moment before telling those you love how you (specifically) feel.

I know enough about grief to know this: there’s no roadmap. No handbook. Not even a one-size-fits-all grief gift that can make everyone feel better. Instead, it’s one of those MFing things that continues to morph and shape shift with every person and experience – kind of like a frenemy or really desperate Tinder date.

Isn’t it humbling to receive advice in the unlikeliest of places – from the unlikeliest of clay figurines? Yes, you read that right. My most enlightening moment as of late came from General Ticker, a toy soldier character in Rudolph’s Shiny New Year that sports a clock for a chest.