I’m Marie Well, as in healthy well. At least, that’s my aim—to get well and make you well. We all have woes, from breakups to cancer to hoarder houses. I’m here to fix those woes—with tips mixed with my own tales.
Why read me? I’ve got a track record of fixin’ stuff. I’ve cured myself of anxiety. For a decade, I had anxiety attacks that struck almost daily. When not stricken, I’d write Voice articles, mostly on how to combat stress.
And then my world changed. One week went by with no attacks. A month. A year. Two years. And counting.
Now, I want to skyrocket our health—and bolster our creativity. After all, nothing soothes better than strokes of paint or tones of music or reps in a gym.
So, let’s get fit, creative, and well with Marie Well.
How do you reward your study spurts? With ten-minute washboard-ab workouts? Ten-minute zombie zone-outs? Or ten-minute roasted prairie dog pig-outs? I’ll opt for all three. But rewards mean little when lacking structure. During my undergrad, I studied steady: 30-minute sessions; 15-minute breaks. I scored the highest grade in most every math class. To quash resentments,… Read more »
Are universities puppets for the powerful and wealthy? Well, ask yourself, Who funds the theory? And Who says what counts as critical thinking? Today’s universities seem more political, less practical, even less economical than ever before. I saw an AU business thesis, not on economic matters, not on shareholder dividends, but on postcolonial feminism in… Read more »
What if you spend months writing an A paper, but get an F? What if, instead, when you saw your grade, your eyes blinking tears, a dove gently perches on your shoulder, startling you, nuzzling soft feathers against your neck? I used to crumble with criticisms. They crushed me, kept me small, snatched away my… Read more »
Have you healed your emotional wounds? Dreamed nightmares about your emotional baggage, luggage lying open, spilling over with your private stuff? Recently, I griped about how peanut butter bunged me. But a week before, I begged for peanut butter to get more fats in my diet. Fickle, I now abhorred the nutty spread. Minor issue? … Read more »
If a professor punished lateness to class by making you sing opera, what would you do? Hide under the lectern while whispering Marylin Monroe-style, your head paper-bagged? Or rent a karaoke machine, sport a belly dance dress, and don a Lady Gaga wig? Some of us would do the latter. Truly. Proof of point: I… Read more »
Make your New Year’s resolution to butt out! Quit smoking—before your blonde hair frizzes, your lush lips wither—and your lungs singe. I smoked during grades six and seven. Luckily, basketball, volleyball, soccer—sports of all sorts—saved my lungs. Sadly, I restarted puffing in grade ten. I’d carry two packs a day, one for myself, the other… Read more »
Did you beg Santa for a leather-bound grammar book? Nothing calms me more than writing. Some people write to make sense of their story, some to laugh at themselves, some to help others. I do all three. And to write half-well, I read grammar books. Decades ago, while upgrading English 30, my study of grammar… Read more »
Are you spending Christmas alone? Well, you may spend the season alone, but not lonely and heartbroken, aching for a Christmas kitten. Instead, ward off weekend and holiday blues—with a plan. But first, let’s study the blues. My elderly landlady felt stricken with loneliness. She huddled over her garden and trimmed her apple trees, but… Read more »
Can you make words dance—like letters gyrating, Elvis-style? Growing up, I wrote songs, danced, and stage acted. These tasks demanded a sense of rhythm, or at least of timing, for mastery. But no fine art compares, not at all, to tying rhythm into writing. Today, I sprinkle less rhythm, more rhyme, into writing. Author Barbara… Read more »
Hope blew in the day Cuddles nicknamed me “Nicee.” Names spark hope and sometimes save necks—but always pep up writers’ pens. So, observe—and name—the whatchamacallits of the world, says author Barbara Baig (2015). To master names, buy kids’ encyclopedias. While reading an encyclopedia of science, I learned makeup comes from petroleum—yes, grease á la ground—ooze… Read more »