by AnnSheybani | Dec 16, 2012 | connection, expectations, growing up, guest post, Honesty, identity, Intimacy, limiting beliefs, mistakes, recovery, risk, self-image
The following is a guest post by one of my workshop students at East Hill Writers. Phyllis Satter is a very accomplished woman–writer and human being– and I wanted to share her piece because I think the message jives so well with what we talk about here....
by AnnSheybani | Oct 16, 2012 | Authenticity, connection, Honesty, identity, Intimacy, Rhonda Britten, Self love, Self-Esteem, Siddiqi Ray
Everybody fears that they are not enough. Everybody. My father used to say that intimacy breeds contempt. This was his favorite motto, something he repeated every day So, I grew up believing that if someone got the chance to know the real me, they would hate my...
by AnnSheybani | Sep 10, 2012 | Authenticity, books, Honesty, Intimacy, Martha Beck, rage, recovery, self-sabotage, The Joy Diet
I once had a wonderful brother-in-law—a neurosurgeon in Tehran– who liked to point out interesting articles in his medical journals. Like the case study of an Iranian boy who’d bitten his tongue off, broken his bones, burned off 80% of his skin, all because he...
by AnnSheybani | May 21, 2012 | Alcoholism, anorexia, Authenticity, Boundaries, bulimia, Codependency, connection, Courage, eating disorders, grace, Honesty, identity, Interview, Intimacy, love, recovery, reinvention, Siddiqi Ray
Siddiqi Ray is so much more than a gifted photographer, life coach, yoga teacher, and recovery expert. Siddiqi is, by her own admission, on a serious mission. Her goal? To dispel the lie we’ve all bought into, that we are somehow not enough. “We numb that lie out with...
by AnnSheybani | Jul 20, 2011 | attachment, Authenticity, choosing a mate, Claire Danes, Codependency, dating, divorce, Ebola, Honesty, Intimacy, Iran, manipulation, marriage, Uncategorized
He kissed me on the lips and told me the sorts of things an insecure girl longs to hear. “I would bring you to Iran with me. I would love it if you joined me,” the man I wanted to marry said, his warm breath grazing my ear. “ I just don’t know how I could ever justify...
by AnnSheybani | Apr 14, 2011 | Authenticity, books, Cinderella, Codependency, exotic cultures, extreem dependency, goals, husband, identity, Intimacy, Islamic Fundamentalist, marriage, Muslim, pregnancy, Prince Charming, trapping a man, Uncategorized, virgin, virginity
When I was in first grade, I wanted more than anything to be Cinderella. I found the picture book character, one I’d come across in the school library, the embodiment of glamour. From her sparkling full-length yellow dress, to her pair of smashing, see-through pumps;...
