#childhood-experiences

#childhood-experiences

Turned out his aunt was his actual birth mother, who had kids with his father too before he was born, but who had passed away in a house fire. The mother who raised him was completely sterile and, in fact, had a hysterectomy at a very young age. He was in complete shock, but said it made sense how close everyone was in the house, despite keeping all the adult stuff behind closed doors.

"If someone asked me to write for a stupid kids thing, I would find it difficult because I don't like talking down to anyone, much less kids."

"I grew up in middle-class suburbia in the Midwest. Everything that is mentioned in the stereotypical free-range childhood is literally all the things my siblings and I experienced growing up. Outside all day, playing with all the other kids in the neighborhood, looking for our friends' bikes on the lawn to find out which house everyone was at."

Over time, daily hassles can exert a cumulative and prolonged effect on our emotional well-being, leading to substantial distress, anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion.

I've always had at least one side gig on top of a primary job. Through economic dips, my backup jobs have brought me peace of mind for 25 years.

As I struggled to get a secondhand easy chair up the stairs, I found myself referencing pop culture, underscoring the influence of entertainment in my daily life.

Stellaluna's journey of belonging reflects the struggles of feeling different, akin to my experiences growing up struggling with social norms as an autistic child.