What happens when your spouse of 30 years and the father of your seven children abruptly ends your marriage with no explanation….in a foreign country….where you have no access to marital funds, no way to secure representation, have no support network…..and then delivers the terms for this foreign divorce like a commander to a subordinate?
Oh, and that foreign divorce you had no idea you were getting will put you at immediate risk of deportation away from your minor children as soon as it’s final…..
Read my weekly installments about how I got home to Oregon with my children, how I’m processing the shock, how our home town has carried us, how I’m coming to terms with my faith and ultimately imagining a future of beauty, purpose, joy and pleasure.
Your paid subscriptions on my Substack are supporting my three minor children and me as we wait for a formal order of support to be approved and enforced through a Lane County, Oregon court. Your paid subscriptions are also covering my legal fees during this time of financial abandonment; enabling me to fight for a fair settlement so I can move forward in safety, stability, dignity and grace.
Read my memoir in real time on my Substack.
Chapter 1: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home, “Welcome to the Gutter, Baby!”
Returning to my hometown after thirty years, post-separation, and now in the margins of Catholicism.
Chapter 2: The Ends of the Earth
On how far we go for the mission, and how much we keep silent to protect the fragile peace.
Chapter 3: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home Chapter 3: Seen and Unseen
The Blessing Inside the Ruin, “Barnacle Chic” and Becoming Real
Chapter 4: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Witness
The Safety in Being Seen, the Body of Christ, and the Rise of the Matriarchy.
Chapter 5: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home, Chapter 5: Containment
The Food Bank, The Lawyer Fund and the Gift of Calm
Chapter 6: Chapter Six – Layers: The Strong and the Weak
Layers of mercy—layers of malice.
Chapter 7: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 7 – Agency
Why we trade agency, how we find true protection and recognizing the structures that fail us.
Chapter 8: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 8 – Scrutiny
The Tribunal of How Dare She
Chapter 9: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 9 – Axis
Ecosystems, chaos and order by velocity.
Chapter 10: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home – Chapter 10: Legion
Blitzkrieg, SOS and the Scaffolding
Chapter 11: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home – Chapter 11: Tiger by the Tail
The Colonel’s Wife, The General’s Wife, The Bull, and The Hurricane
Chapter 12: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 12 — The Undeserving
Worthiness, Expulsion and Family Culture
Chapter 13: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 13 — Waiting
The Chooser, Asymmetry and Freedom
Chapter 14: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 14 — Hunger
Desire, Satiation and Fulfillment
Chapter 15: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 15 — Unmistakable
Gratitude, Clarity and Taking all the Good
Chapter 16: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 16 — Our House
The Second Nest, Ave Maria, The Wheels Lifted
Chapter 17: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 17 — March Forth
Mylar Balloons, Middle Fingers and White Sauce
Chapter 18: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 18 — Spark
Succulents, Shame and an Apricot Galette
Chapter 19: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 19 — Hosanna
Hosanna, Hosanna — Save Us, Save Us
Chapter 20: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 20 — Epicenter
Violation, Awakening and The Hurricane
Chapter 21: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 21 — Free Fall
Faith, Bone and Sinew
Chapter 22: The Gutter Catholic Goes Home: Chapter 22 — Allowed
Worth, Care and Being Seen
New chapter published every Sunday.