She sat beside the bed, tears brimming. ‘Mum’s dying.’ ‘Yes.’ We sat in silence for a bit. ‘I’ve lost my faith.’ ‘Uh huh.’ ‘When my friend died.’ ‘Mm.’ We held hands and Mum’s too, wondering in our own ways, about…
Amongst the debris on my desk sits a small skull. It’s just big enough to remind me that I’m not long for this world. No, I don’t have a diagnosis that may make you feel awkward, other than being terminally…
Crying into my muesli was familiar territory in the days when hormones were more rampant, usually activated by the loss of some love or a response to the all-encompassing despair that used to dog my footsteps. The loves are gone…
I used to love the story of Little Red Riding Hood. There was something deliciously appealing about getting dressed up in an elegant red cape and sauntering off into the world alone. Grandma turning into the wolf didn’t bother me,…
Midwifing death is as important to the dying process as pain relief. For me, it’s walking slowly beside another person as they disengage from their dwindling life force and listening intently to the stories of their life. Stories can tumble…
Last time I saw Sam Hunt perform I was drunk in a pub in Wellington. We all were, him too most likely. It was what you did at those gigs where poetry and plonk were like riding a bicycle for…
My Mum always said we shouldn’t wash our dirty linen in public. Secrets, lies, and doubts about anything, particularly the godstuff, were for the privacy of our own kitchen and closed down before they got too heretical. What mattered was…
Joy to the world, the angels at Statistics New Zealand are singing a new song . Anglicans and Protestants are on the eve of destruction. We’ve got about 20 years left. By 2054, (my 100th birthday!) Christianity, except for Roman Catholicism, will probably not…
New Zealand’s ‘rape culture’ is in the news after a group of teenage boys allegedly had sex with intoxicated underage girls and then bragged about it on Facebook. The report triggered memories of my own. As a young mum, I…
no matter how much we protest about rape (haven’t women been experiencing this forever, remember Dinah in Genesis and when we thought our marching might take back the night) no matter how many rape laws are drafted, enacted people imprisoned,…