Jan 25Member-onlyFocus your shining light!I wasted so much of my life hiding, refusing to embrace my authentic self, terrified to let anyone know I was really a girl. Living outside of a very rural Missouri town, there was no one like me, or if there were, they, too, remained hidden from prying eyes. I…Transgender3 min readTransgender3 min read
Jan 17Member-onlyState sponsored torture and murderMonday January 2nd was the last full day my beautiful daughter Amber McLaughlin will be permitted to spend on this earth. The state of Missouri carried out our Nations first State sponsored execution of a Transgender woman at 6:00pm Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023. Letters, emails and a petition with 2157…Death3 min readDeath3 min read
Jan 15Member-onlyLiving with a prison bullyFor decades, our incarcerated brothers and sisters have written stories about uncaring and/or vindictive prison staff who assign transgender women to cells without regard for their personal safety. Thousands of stories have been reported where the outcomes of such assignments have been fatal. I had always been one of the…Prison3 min readPrison3 min read
Oct 1, 2022Member-onlyEntering the Prison-Industrial ComplexAlmost five decades ago, I entered adult prison for the first time, at just seventeen years of age. Everything about entering prison screamed that you had entered a huge machine that would use you until you had no value, before spitting you back out, full of hate and with a…Prison4 min readPrison4 min read
Aug 1, 2022Member-onlyEmpowerment through hateBeing confined to a maximum security prison for over four decades gives you a close and personal relationship with the emotion we call hate. This negative energy is palpable, taking root like some pervasive weed feeding off of itself like a perpetually self-generating entity that consumes everything around it. …Prison3 min readPrison3 min read
Jul 17, 2022I am a womanI was six years old in 1965 when I was unceremoniously informed I was, in fact, not a girl. The next 53 years were filled with deep depression, anger, and extreme violence aimed at those who certainly did not deserve it. …Transgender2 min readTransgender2 min read
Jul 15, 2022Puppies for Parole: What About People for Parole?Dogs were at the Jefferson City Correctional Center (JCCC) in Jefferson City Missouri years before I arrived there in 2011. The first housing unit I was assigned to was Housing Unit Four, the proud home of the JCCC dog program! I have had a first-hand view of the order of…Prison2 min readPrison2 min read
Jul 12, 2022A Good Day in PrisonI opened my eyes early this morning only to realize, it wasn’t as early as I thought. While I normally wake up around 5:30am, today my clock said 8:25am. …Prison3 min readPrison3 min read
Jul 10, 2022Celebrating Our IndependenceAs with most children, every morning school began with my reciting these familiar words: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.” Reciting the pledge, with your…LGBTQ3 min readLGBTQ3 min read
Jul 3, 2022Abortion: Two sides — Two Stories, You DecideI try to skirt around political and religious issues, no one wins those arguments. As a transgender woman, I am thankful I will never have to go through the decision process of whether or not to have an abortion. But I would, at the very least, like to think I…3 min read3 min read