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My Son’s Walkabout
At the end of her rope, Pauline Gaines sent her troubled son to a wilderness camp, hoping that he would find his way out of his downward spiral. Last week I traveled to a fly-over state, a place where...
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“Will You Visit Me There?” A Mother and Son Briefly Reunite
Pauline’s son Luca is in the midst of a ‘walkabout’, desperately trying to make sense of a world gone awry. A reunion only adds to his confusion. This is Part 2 of a 3 part series. Read Part 1, “My...
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Patching a Hole in a Damaged Psyche: A Teenager Learns to Change
In Part 3 of the story of Luca’s Walkabout, a mom and her sixteen-year-old son come to terms with just how much damage has already been done. This is Part 3 of a 3 part series. Read Part 1, “My Son’s...
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How Does a 99% Mother Raise a 1% Son?
There’s more than one divide between Pauline Gaines and her son, and she’s trying to get them all to disappear. This week I will travel to a wide-open, western state to visit my 14-year-old son at a...
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My Son Goes to Boarding School, and No, I Don’t Mean Exeter
Pauline Gaines offers perspective about divorce, family therapy, and boarding schools for the troubled. Luca introduced me to his boarding school mates at the dinner table. Considering their...
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Did My Son Inherit My Eating Disorder?
For Pauline Gaines, the thought of her son having an eating disorder represents something bigger. “I’m not too skinny. I like the way I look now. I was fat before.” Luca and I were standing in front...
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Meds, Horses, and Uncle Fred’s Farm for My ADHD Son
After months at a therapeutic boarding school, Pauline Gaines’ son has recognizably changed. This is the last installment of a three-part series about the author’s visit to her son’s therapeutic...
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Is Your Blog Stalked By Trolls? Here’s Why.
Pauline Gaines wonders what makes some commenters feel they have the right to rip a blogger into teeny-tiny pieces. Originally appeared at Perils of Divorced Pauline I belong to a group of mom...
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Why Can’t My Ex-Husband Talk About Our Son’s Psychiatric Disorder?
Part of loving a person with a psychiatric disorder, writes Pauline Gaines, is acknowledging that the disorder is real. I did not want to get amniocentesis, an invasive screening test used to detect...
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Lance Armstrong: The Price of Enabling Professional Athletes
Pauline Gaines insists that we need to let go of the fantasy that our professional athletes can be superheroes. The fate of our children depends upon it. I graduated from a university famous for its...
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Bite Me, Marissa Mayer
Luca’s feet, under the cover, and mine, on the right Working mom Pauline Gaines is outraged by Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer’s order to send all employees into the office instead of continuing their...
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One Wrong Choice
Therapist Pauline Gaines and a loving social worker do everything they can to help change a troubled boy’s fate, but recognize that in the end, the responsibility is upon Reggie alone to create a...
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What a BuzzFeed Quiz Taught Me About Privilege
BuzzFeed’s “How Privileged Are You?” quiz exposed to Pauline Gaines the blind spots in her understanding of privilege. She also discovered the ominous limitations of such a test. - I take so many...
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My Son’s Walkabout
At the end of her rope, Pauline Gaines sent her troubled son to a wilderness camp, hoping that he would find his way out of his downward spiral.Last week I traveled to a fly-over state, a place where...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Will You Visit Me There?” A Mother and Son Briefly Reunite
Pauline’s son Luca is in the midst of a ‘walkabout’, desperately trying to make sense of a world gone awry. A reunion only adds to his confusion.This is Part 2 of a 3 part series. Read Part 1, “My...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Patching a Hole in a Damaged Psyche: A Teenager Learns to Change
In Part 3 of the story of Luca’s Walkabout, a mom and her sixteen-year-old son come to terms with just how much damage has already been done.This is Part 3 of a 3 part series. Read Part 1, “My Son’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Does a 99% Mother Raise a 1% Son?
There’s more than one divide between Pauline Gaines and her son, and she’s trying to get them all to disappear.This week I will travel to a wide-open, western state to visit my 14-year-old son at a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My Son Goes to Boarding School, and No, I Don’t Mean Exeter
Pauline Gaines offers perspective about divorce, family therapy, and boarding schools for the troubled.Luca introduced me to his boarding school mates at the dinner table. Considering their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Did My Son Inherit My Eating Disorder?
For Pauline Gaines, the thought of her son having an eating disorder represents something bigger.“I’m not too skinny. I like the way I look now. I was fat before.”Luca and I were standing in front of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Meds, Horses, and Uncle Fred’s Farm for My ADHD Son
After months at a therapeutic boarding school, Pauline Gaines’ son has recognizably changed.This is the last installment of a three-part series about the author’s visit to her son’s therapeutic...
View Article
