Catherine Gigante-Brown

I thought cancer was behind me. Until I had a weird pain near my left ovary which lasted for several days. It felt a lot like ovulation...Only, at 56, that train had left the station a long time ago.

Mindel and Maria were young teenagers when the horrors occurred—but they remembered the tiniest details with crystal-clear intensity.

You learn a lot about people when you live in their home. The Taylors seemed to lead a joyless, Spartan existence.

Being a little bit chubby is better than being a lot dead.

You realize pretty soon that everything other than cancer — i.e. missing a train, being late to your dentist appointment — is no biggie compared to the suck factor of chemo.

The hell with his elaborate metaphors and rhetorical phrases. Iambic pentameter is cruel and unusual punishment.

raunchy renaissance woman. multimedia artist. probably a slut.

erotic. intimate. unapologetic.

To the tattoo artist, I was a flesh canvas that she could transform into something beautiful.

I try. I really do. But whenever I attempt to embrace my husband Peter’s Cuban culture, I always screw up.