by Veneranda Aguirre Depression first hit me when I was in fourth grade. I didn’t know it was depression. People didn’t talk about it back in the 1980s. And they certainly didn’t give the diagnosis to children. But as a child with undiagnosed autism, I suffered from massive anxiety and depression that kept me up at nights, crying into my pillow out of frustration and fear. As I grew into an adult, depression morphed into irrational anger. If I couldn’t…
by Renee Uitto I always had a good relationship with my mother. She believed that I should have the best of everything and she made sure that I had the best education, therapy and everything else I needed. When I wanted to live on my own after my relationship ended, she supported me then also. When she started having problems with her memory, it threw me for a loop and shocked me. She was asking the same things over and…
By The Refresh Editors If you’re new to The Refresh, it might come as a surprise to see that nestled among the latest book post or soul-baring personal essay are glimpses into history. We’re delighted to work with writers who look into the past as a means of better understanding our present and future worlds — and ultimately to remind readers that even though we could easily consider the current time to be a bit politically tumultuous, ups and downs have…
by: Lauren Jonik The musical landscape of the 1990s changed dramatically. It began during the era of “hair bands” (think rock and roll, power ballads and a little too much hairspray on the long-haired men who dominated the genre), introduced grunge (Nirvana!) and alternative and ended with a resurgence of radio-friendly boy bands like *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys. In short, it produced a lot of music—a lot of great music—that fans would discover through a whole new means: the internet….
by Marissa Price Bringing Shakespeare into the 21st Century is no mean feat. His plays are the ultimate classical texts on par with the greats of the past including Cicero and Plato. His effect on the Western literary canon is phenomenal and enduring. And as a high school teacher with a broad spectrum of students, explaining that William Shakespeare was once a person, just like them, who had a job and did it well helps to humanize him. They love to…