The Migraine Girl

I must confess something: I am not the best caretaker for fellow migraineurs. It’s not something I like about myself, but it’s the ugly truth. Unless they are caring for...

I wrote this for a collective “You,” for the non-migraineur loved ones who might not understand certain things about my illness. Dear You, I know you are trying to be...

As you can imagine, I’ve experimented with lots of typical and off-the-beaten-path treatments for my migraine disease since I started getting attacks when I was in middle school. Some have...

A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend and bookseller R. took me out for a much-belated birthday dinner. We went to a local restaurant before wandering over to the...

This past October, I had a LOT going on. My business finally launched its brick-and-mortar shop, I was still working three jobs (including the bookstore—hey, this is still the case...

As I opened up my word processing program to write this, I looked at the clock. It’s 9:55 AM on a Saturday morning. For a minute, I felt my heart...

Let’s talk about something not so charming, shall we? Let’s talk about the IBS and/or diarrhea that accompanies migraine disease for a huge number of us. Let me lay it...

Rather than making big resolutions at the first of the year like most people, spring tends to be my season of change and rebirth. Once the days get longer and...

In 30 minutes, it will have been exactly thirty-two years since I was born. Thirty-two has always seemed like an important age to me, probably because that’s how old my...

The weather here has been unseasonably mild since late fall. Granted, things never get all that cold here in my part of Georgia, but we almost always have a handful...

In mid-January, I was invited to speak at a panel at the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute, a conference for independent booksellers. Because I ended up funding my business through...

It's hard to believe that, as I write this, 2012 is only hours away. The last months of my life have been among the most difficult and the most meaningful...

Y’all, I have been a million times worse about not practicing what I preach than ever before. I haven’t been on more than a couple exercise walks all fall, and...

"Stop yawning, or go take a nap for a few minutes." I can just hear my dad's voice, exasperated after my tenth yawn in a row (probably without covering my...

My little kitten, Wally (whom you’ve met before!), has not been herself lately. In early November she was spayed, and she never quite recovered. The spaying surgery put stress on...

My bookstore is this close to opening. It’s surreal and amazing and exhausting—is it really possible that something I’ve been dreaming of for years is days, even hours, away from...

So so tired. All I can do is chalk it up to the changing of the seasons and perhaps a hint of brain fatigue: in the last couple of weeks...

In the past several months, I've not been keeping up with my health and lifestyle regimen as well as I should. I've fallen off the wagon a couple of times...

Any of you who’ve had to (or chosen to) ask for special accommodation due to your migraine disease know how frustrating and upsetting it can be when your needs are...

For some reason, my sweet BFF (who lives across the sea) always seems to be with me during a migraine. I have a couple of theories on this, one of...