My first concert ever was Kim Mitchell in 1986 or maybe 1987; their hit at the time was Patio Lanterns . I remember the experience clearly, because I had recently tie-dyed my Levis jean jacket and after the concert, I asked the band to sign the back with a black magic marker. I was super proud that I had gotten all band members’ signatures too! I had planned to check out the signatures at home and ran over to dad's truck excited to spread my jacket out on my bed. I was running high on adrenaline when I got home and told Big M about the autographs and then spun around so she could see them. Big M: What the hell were you doing at that concert? Me : …. Big M: Jack, look! One of the signed it with “Nice Ass” Me: [ummm what ?] …..… Big M: ANSWER ME! Me: I didn’t know what they wrote because I haven’t seen it yet….. Big M: Yeah, uh huh, sure Me: Well, they were a lot taller than I was so they asked me to bend over to sign my jacket. Big M:
"Don't Shame the Family" is the story of how I came to have and live with PTSD. I promise to be as honest and transparent as I can with my own feelings and actions regardless of how humiliated I may feel. If my blog helps one person break the cycle of abuse and realize they're not alone, I will have succeeded.