MSI Press Blog

  Excerpt from excerpt from  From Deep Within  (Lewis)  Ben and Bella   My office was on the seventh floor. Practitioners who rented office space in the large brick building nicknamed it ‘therapy row’ since it was occupied by so many therapists.   My square office was to the right of the elevator. I had two black leather chairs that reclined, with a tinted brown glass table between them. In the corner was a plain pine desk with file drawers, a clock and a phone. Healthy green plants were placed around the office, and pictures of nameless Caribbean islands lined the four walls.   Bella, who described herself as transgendered, walked into my office. She was a mixed race black woman dressed to the T. The paisley dress she wore was a mix of red, blue and green. She wore striking red pumps. I noticed her feet were large and out of proportion to her small frame. She was transitioning from a man to a woman, and some of her feminine qualities were still muted....

  Cats & Their People: Stories from Conflict Zones — Lucy, Bella & Mohamed (Bell was killed in an airstrike in Gaza.) Mohamede is a university student, trying to help his family and especially to keep his two ill cats alive; all the kitties need right now is $140 for vet care for both of them.  Here is Mohamede's story: My name is Mohammed Al-Masri . I am 22 years old, a university student in my first semester, and part of a family of seven with no stable source of income. My father, 51, lives with a herniated disc, and my mother, 45, manages diabetes. We have two younger sisters, a brother who recently finished high school, and a middle brother who is 20. The weight of our situation is overwhelming, yet we hold onto hope. Since October 7, war has driven us from our home and forced us to displacement—ten times in search of safety. During the famine, I faced the hard choice of going to aid distribution points under occupation, even when gunfire could interrupt our steps...