words & art by shé

Tag: mold poisoning

  • Straight to the Ocean

    I was conceived in the Bahamas, on my parents’ honeymoon. Nine months later, I emerged in Arizona, a desert fish. Despite my surroundings, I managed — always — to find water to splash in, swim in, and play in. Waterbaby, they called me. My first ocean was the Pacific, off San Francisco. I was four,…

  • 4 Months in a Jetta

    Nine years ago, at the recommendation of a doctor, I evacuated my home in Olympia, Washington. It was terrifyingly difficult to breathe, and she suspected long-term black mold toxicity. I could not keep any paper, fabric, wood — my life’s work, basically. Wearing a hazmat suit and mask, I sorted through my belongings, setting cast-offs…