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  Theology of Hope and Healing From A Bisexual Transman with Depression and Anxiety Introduction There’s a questionnaire that I answer often. It’s called a safety plan. The full gist of this questionnaire is that it will be used in case I have suicidal ideations or express suicidal behavior. There are two questions that stunt my progress. “Why do you value your life?” and “what brings you hope?”. I don’t know. I’m discerning if I’m looking for a theology of hope or a theology of healing. Formed in the Presbyterian tradition the answers are easy. I have hope in the resurrection and the life ever after. I value my life because God, creator, father, beginner knitted me in my mother’s womb and knew me by name. Fairly rehearsed. There’s something missing, a bridge from theology on paper to my lived experiences. My first quiz in Seminary was to rehearse John Calvin’s definition of faith which included the words “a firm and certain knowledge…both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our ...
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The Many Personalities of Me - Short Poetry Collection - A Mini Review


There is a lot to say about the struggle to be an indie poet. There is the collection of poems, editing, publishing, marketing, and sharing a piece of one's soul. That is what Miss Bailey Gee, or Yael Gottesman has done: shared a piece of her soul.

Hardly a chapbook, the 18 poems featured are strong in content. They are heartbreaking. They are emotional. They remind me a lot about my own times in inpatient treatment: a fact that could bring a lot of stigma.

In "Footsteps to Reflection", the line "Wake up. Kick ass. Repeat." reminds me of a battle cry in a lost galaxy of running thoughts, uncertainty, and emotional turmoil. Again, real and pressing matters of mental health.

My favorite poem is "The Loneliness Pandemic" as I relate to it the most. It is such a strange phenomenon that in a world so full of people where we are connected at a push of a touchscreen--it is still a very big and lonely place. The poem reads like one of my innermost confessions "I’m not alone; I’ve got deafening silence surrounding me, louder than ever during quarantine." Perhaps, we will learn how to be a voice that cuts through the blade of silence during this COVID-19 pandemic. At least, that is my wish.

I realized, while reading this collection, that I am a literary reader. I like imagery, I like wordplay. Though, there were very little flowery images or tantalizing word play: the poems expressed their motives completely. There was no ambiguity in meaning and the vulnerability is daunting. Quite a haunting read.

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