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Book Review: Service by John Tottenham
By Sammy Ginsberg Just finished reading Service by John Tottenham. Stumbled upon John’s launch party at 2220. The room was packed with big names in literature introducing the book – Colm Toibin and Rachel Kushner – and was published by Semiotexte, aka publisher of the artistic and academic elite in Los Angeles. Over a hundred people…
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Theatre Review: The Other Woman, Hollywood Fringe 2025
By Sammy Ginsberg Omg! Triggering and also so so important and necessary. On Wednesday I attended The Other Woman, a one-woman play written by and starring Faith Nagel and directed by Fiona Burrows, currently on at the Fringe at the Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre. It was – wow. So brave. I was there with our…
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He Was Already Dead
By Sammy Ginsberg “Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Samuel Beckett I have failed so many times this yearso many timesand Papa Joe passed away,failed at three marriageswas it failure?our healthcare system failed himour cities and neighborhoods failed himsenior citizen more like second class citizeninvisiblehe wanted to diehe was already dead – that’s what our…
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Afraid of Everything
By Sammy Ginsberg For Papa Joe Sitting on his green leather chair with the wood arm rests,the one he’s had for decadesnow in room 757 at The Variel.“I just feel so afraid.”his eyes twinkle blue and he looks like a little boy,with his yellow shirttucked into his underwear.“What are you afraid of, Grandpa?”I ask, Top…
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Update #7: Lifestyle Goals
Yay! I’ve completed stage one – housing! Now I’m on stage two – lifestyle goals. Although if you ask my cousin, we did not finish housing. Our kitchen is still pretty messy and I did not decorate the bathroom yet into the Feminist Toilet. Also our shower keeps flooding! The reason that these tasks haven’t…
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Year 2
Well, as you know I did survive year two, but it was worse- much worse. That summer off though – was brilliantly delightful. I had made it. I survived my first year and got to my first ever teacher summer. I flew to London and Europe, where I hadn’t gone for three years since COVID…
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Year 1
Okay, so I titled this originally “Problem 1 ELA” but then when I was in yoga all the thoughts that came up were about the full-inclusion academy so then I was like, well obviously I want to write about that but then I was like – they won’t understand why the problem was so bad…
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I am able to get my needs met and my boundaries respected
When I stopped working, I started going to yoga twice a day. My therapist said, without this, they didn’t understand how I was still functioning and hadn’t completely lost it. This going to yoga was my medicine. To help me feel safe in my own body. To connect the mind and body together to rest…
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I hate my life and who I have become to be a teacher
This was the thought that I couldn’t control. This was the thought that would cause me to start crying and collapsing inward whenever anything didn’t go as expected. This was the thought that caused me to be nostalgic and constantly referencing when I lived in London and worked in publishing, or when I lived in…
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Creating my own in-patient program
To begin to heal, I need to have safety and stability. This is what in-patient programs do, they take a person out of their environment where they do not feel safe, and place them in a safe environment so that they can heal. While this works for some, for others the in-patient program, or mental…