Some journeys are taken with your feet, others with your heart. Ours was both.On a recent pilgrimage to Granite Island, Carrie, Anna, and I set out with a quiet hope—to heal the wounds left behind by the violent, unresolved loss of our island sister, Melinda. We weren’t seeking answers, exactly. We were seeking connection, meaning, maybe even a sign that …
Cold Case Journey – Part Three
Carrie had disappeared from sight, rounding the curve of Skipper Creek inlet behind a sand island thick with mangroves. This mound of sand and greenery sat right in the middle of the freshwater stream flowing down from Skipper Creek. Nearby, a tall paperbark tree provided a small patch of shade for us. The locals had told us that, just a …
Cold Case Journey – Part Two
As Carrie, Anna, and I walked toward the foreshore of Scotsman’s Bay, the shade from the enormous Moreton Bay Fig trees was a welcome relief. The late morning sun in the tropics was becoming uncomfortably warm for us southerners. Beneath the cool, dark green canopy of the second fig tree, I noticed a strategically placed information plaque. Grateful for a …
Cold Case Journey – Part One
Carrie and I had never set foot near Skipper Creek again after Melinda lost her life there forty-one years ago. We had talked about going many times—to sit, to meditate—but we never made it. I think we were always too sickened by the trauma of her murder, the legal case that followed, and the acquittal. Avoidance became a self-preservation tactic, …
Keep Digging! Part Three
For forty years, we never had access to all the facts surrounding the horrific murder of our dear island sister and friend, Melinda White. To this day, Carrie and I are still trying to uncover what really happened on New Year’s Eve at the Mala Bay Cabaret in 1984 on Granite Island. As one of Carrie and Mel’s best friends …
Keep Digging! Part Two
Sometimes, life feels harder than usual, especially during astrology’s infamous “Mercury in Retrograde.” Yesterday marked the end of one such chaotic three-week stretch, and I couldn’t have been more relieved. It had been one of the most confusing times in recent memory. Amid this cosmic chaos, my ongoing quest to uncover records about Melinda White’s 41-year-old murder case was hitting …
Keep Digging! Part One
What really happened in 1984? What was the true story behind my friend Mel’s sudden and tragic death? In Chapter 15 of my book Spirit Being Human – Discovering Resilience After Trauma (2023), I share the shock and horror of this trauma. My next book will delve deeper into what happened, but the third book—still unwritten—I hope will finally reveal …
Detoxing and Setting Boundaries: Part Three
If you’ve made it to day three without eating anything solid, well done! Ron and I began day three, our final detox day, with a juice blend to celebrate “fruit day.” This is the time to reintroduce clean foods and, if you choose, to reset your eating habits. Day three can be the start of new food boundaries. In the …
Mother Nature is our gift that keeps giving
Today it has really struck me just how grateful I am every day for this beautiful land which Ron and I reside on and call home. During my morning pages (where I sit and put pen to paper and write about anything and everything) I contemplated the amount of bird life around me at 7 am in the garden, I …