by Michele Young-Stone, author of THE HANDBOOK FOR LIGHTNING STRIKE SURVIVORS and the forthcoming, ABOVE US ONLY SKY, Simon & Schuster, early 2015.
My dad used to drink beer and piss in the driveway. My elementary school friends used to laugh and 
make fun of me. My dad never said my name without saying, "God damn it," first, as a preface, like it was part of my name. He took a belt to me and my sister when he felt it was warranted. When I got breasts, my dad was disappointed and stopped spending time with me. I was supposed to be a boy. I was supposed to be called Eric.
I was too sensitive...
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
I often think that if it weren't for my dad, I wouldn't understand the world or myself or people as well as I do. I'm grateful for my father. I'm grateful for the drama I've survived.
I won't ever express in words all the chaos I've endured. I write fiction. But I know the chaos. I know the damaged people. I'm one of them. That's how I'm able to tell stories.
I always tell people, "At a young age, I was written off as a future homeless/bag lady." Nah! Never listen to anyone who tells you what you're supposed to be--who puts you down. I'm a writer. I'm a novelist. I'm a mother, a wife, and a woman always striving to do the best I can.
Pursue what you love. Find your cheese. Eat your cake. Live your life the best way you know how. Be happy!
Love.
This is my website. www.micheleyoung-stone.com
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