Let the Readers Feel the Fight

The Sedona Room is my writing oasis. An artist hand painted a sunrise over Cathedral Rock across the walls and ceiling, wrapping the room in warm desert hues, reds and oranges and blues stretching overhead while I sit with my feet kicked up on the couch, air conditioning humming, trying to make sense of fifteen … Read more

Rejection, Walt Disney’s Swamp, and My Own Crossroads

Walt Disney pointing at a map of Florida.

I woke up to another rejection email today. It was polite, almost too polite: Thank you for responding to us. We appreciate your platform and mission. However, after delving a bit more into the market, we could see this project isn’t quite a fit for us. We decline with the greatest respect and deepest regret. … Read more

Footprints in the Sand

Sunrise over Gun Rock Beach in Hull

It was July 15, 1982, my sixth birthday. The year before had been busy for our family. My dad had just finished building our new house in Hingham, and my sister had been born on my dad’s own birthday. Life had shifted in more ways than a five-year-old could track. But that summer, my mom … Read more

Monster in a Box: Taming the Digital Dilemma of Unfinished Work

Gerard and I were back at our usual lunch spot, sandwiches from Al’s, the window open to the noise of State Street, when he set his phone down on the desk between us and hit play on a grainy clip of a man in a red and blue checkered shirt sitting alone at a table … Read more

A Turn-of-the-Century Immigration Story

A picture of colonial home on 67 lake street in Weymouth MA.

The nurse handed me a cane. A standard-issue black cane with a soft Styrofoam grip. As soon as it touched my palm, something inside me shifted. The hospital room, the nurse’s voice, the weight of my diagnosis, they all faded. Because I had seen this cane before. Not this exact one, but one just like … Read more

Who’s Got the Ball Now, Lucy?

Matt standing in front of a Peanuts comic.

There’s a moment from the Peanuts comic strip that I’ve always related to: Charlie Brown gearing up to kick the football. Every time, he gives it his all, determined to finally succeed. And every time, Lucy pulls the ball away, leaving him flat on his back, staring at the sky, wondering what just happened. That’s … Read more

Run Safe with Elizabeth Ramos

Run Safe with Elizabeth Ramos

  Imagine that you are a senior in college and a semester away from graduating. You are going for an afternoon jog. The sun is shining as you run along the California coastline. You stop at an intersection and wait for the walk signal. The signal changes and you start jogging across the crosswalk. Then, … Read more

Going for the Gold with Stephanie Millward

Going for the Gold with Stephanie Millward

When I lost functionality from the waist down in 2005 due to Transverse Myelitis, I had to learn how to walk again. As part of that process, I was prescribed aquatic therapy. I worked closely with a physical therapist who coached me in the pool and slowly but surely I was able to walk again. … Read more

Realizing Dreams

Realizing Dreams when you have a chronic illness

As far back as I can remember, I dreamed of visiting the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I was born into a football family, more specifically a New England Patriots football family. We used to huddle around my grandmother’s kitchen table each Sunday and listen to AM radio broadcasts because the Pats weren’t good enough … Read more

When Life Throws You Curve Balls – An Interview with Matt Cavallo by K.L. Toth

K.L. Toth recently interviewed me for her blog, Creative Expressions. She is a talented writer who has a wonderful blog and book reviews. Here is an excerpt from our recent interview. The full interview is available at the link listed below: “Most of us have plans for our lives; dreams that we hope will come true. … Read more