Well the 2nd edition of I DID TELL I DID is almost there. It has been along hard ‘slog’ and one I should not have had to make.

When I first brought my story out in 2009, I had spent night after night revisiting the horrors that were my childhood. I was working as a Psychotherapist, looking after my home and family and many ponies. Staying up at night was the only way I could write about what had happened to me as a child. It wasn’t easy, going back in my mind, thinking about the abuse and the nastiness of the woman they called my mother. My husband Daniel was very supportive and so were my daughters although only Lucy lived at home at that time. I had locked the ‘nasties’ in boxes that were hard to open. I knew once opened I had to deal with the memories…

Choosing a song for this occasion was difficult.

I wanted to avoid all of the clichés in my choice to celebrate our country’s independence, and find one that not only upholds the very essence of freedom of speech, but does so in a way that makes one think.

Some of you may remember a country band called The Dixie Chicks. They are still together and have been since 1989.

They fell out of favor with many in the USA in 2003 after this:

Source: en.m.wikipedia.org
Now, I’m not going to get into a political debate here or encourage anyone to choose a side. My goal on this weekend, which means so much to me as an American, is to share a song written in response to the backlash The Dixie Chicks received for simply speaking out and sharing an opinion.

As many know, Mary Chapin Carpenter is my favorite female…

I would have to say most who find it necessary to announce this are not doing so in good faith, but as yet another systematic form of discrimination and oppression against those who are different from what they consider to be the “norm.”

Julie DiCaro hit the nail on the head.