Author: Kimberly Blakes

That was it. Pat was dead. The same Pat I used to argue with about the Bible. The same one I had just visited yesterday. If I had known he was about to die, I would’ve said something more meaningful. I would’ve sat with him for hours and let him say whatever he wanted. I…

Life went on… all couples have problems, I guess. I grew up watching my parents argue every other day. I still wanted to marry Jeremy because we had a baby together. I didn’t have the gift of hindsight; I wanted marriage right then. A friend of his eventually got him a job at JCPenney in…

After I became pregnant, I decided to go all in with Jeremy. I wanted my child to have both parents active and involved in their life. Jeremy was nice enough, and I knew he was safe. We got along for the most part. He wasn’t a big talker, but that was okay—I talked enough for…

Hey, guys. I wanted to check in to let you know that I’ve taken a bit of a respite. The content was—and still is—hard. It has been difficult to relive, and even harder to sleep at night. I have vivid dreams of my teenage years and my childhood home, and none have been pleasant. There…

After the dear John letter, I threw almost everything he gave me away. I gave the life-sized teddy bear to my nephew and took the block off the phone to hear a familiar voice. Gino eventually called. He wasn’t the same. His underlying tone was bitter. While I was busy playing Sandy Olsson from Grease…

When I was a kid, I had an aunt who would come over and tell us she was coming to get us for a sleepover on the weekend. She would talk about all the fun things she had planned for my sister and I. She promised to pick us up after work that Friday at…

Finally, the day before prom, she called and said she was still working on the dress but only had a few finishing touches left. The day of prom, I still had no dress. Two hours before Derrick was supposed to arrive, she brought the dress over in a black garbage bag. It was wrinkled and…

What did I just hear? The way he said it was as if he were placing the blame for both of these men’s actions squarely on my 15-year-old shoulders. Everyone was pointing the finger at this point, so I guess it was now my turn to take some of the blame. I was used to…

Gino and I didn’t feel as close anymore after what happened. I felt shame and tried my best to get back to the old me. At the time, I didn’t know I would never be the same. Gino was still sweet, but it felt like he no longer saw me as innocent or as “his…

This series has been pretty intense thus far. I want to give you a breather from “Dark New World” that was rough. I also want to apologize for my life. I know an apology is not necessary, and many of you may not want it, but those of you who weren’t expecting such raw material…