As 2009 ended, I had no full-time job—but blogged and got two freelance pieces published in DC’s Metro Weekly before the year’s end.
In 2019, I wrote for BuzzFeed, now work on criminal justice at The Justice Collaborative & published in The Appeal—and had two pieces in the NYT.
In 2019, I wrote for BuzzFeed, now work on criminal justice at The Justice Collaborative & published in The Appeal—and had two pieces in the NYT.
As 2009 ended, my drinking was out of control, as I said I had no full-time job, and I was staying with friends.
As 2019 ends, I’m nine-and-a-half years sober, I have a full-time job plus plenty else to do, and I love living by myself in my lovely apartment.
As 2019 ends, I’m nine-and-a-half years sober, I have a full-time job plus plenty else to do, and I love living by myself in my lovely apartment.
As 2009 ended, I was letting my health go in every way, from my drinking to my physical heath to my mental health.
As 2019 ends, I’m sober, have a great therapist, exercise often, and actually care about taking care of my body, soul, and mind. And am happy about all of it.
As 2019 ends, I’m sober, have a great therapist, exercise often, and actually care about taking care of my body, soul, and mind. And am happy about all of it.
Over the past decade, so many realities came to pass that were beyond my imagining. Any sobriety, let alone long-term, seemed impossible. Attending White House press briefings, asking questions at them, interviewing cabinet members and eventually the president, all unexpected.
Getting to cover the Supreme Court, getting to tell so many important stories that reached the court, and getting to do my best to hold accountable all of those powerful people involved in the process by covering what they all do, that has been the privilege of a lifetime.
The opportunity I was given this year, to move back into pushing for change and not just telling the stories of that change, was as unexpected as all the rest. I’ve loved this chance to work with so many people who, like me, know we need to fix our criminal legal system.
None of what happened over the past decade — for me or the country — is anywhere close to what I would have predicted even a couple years out. So, as we start a new decade, and in the spirit of the lessons I’ve learned in sobriety, I’m not going to make any grand predictions.
I’m going to keep looking ahead in 2020 (while not ignoring the past), taking it all one day at a time, trying always to do the next right thing and to be good to others and myself — knowing I’ll often fall short, but forgiving myself when I do. And then starting again.
As I talked about a few days ago, another big change this past decade was the addition of my nephews to my family. We FaceTimed today — Henry told me about his upcoming acting class(!) and Samuel tried to eat me — and I couldn’t be happier or more grateful. 🥰 I’m so lucky.
Anyway, you all have been such an important part of all of this — many of you have been colleagues, friends, even ~lovers~, or pretty much anything else. For all the hellishness of this hellscape, it’s also been a little miracle for me, personally and professionally, so thanks.
Best to all of you as we end 2019, be safe, and let us try to be good to one another — and ourselves — in 2020.
