Ashley Needles

It was March, a week after Art's death. Each breath since it happened felt as though my ribs were breaking my chest, the loss so enormous it was a black hole crushing me alive. He saw my sad eyes, grabbed my wrist and pulled me back when I tried to walk away. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Art's dead." The words hung sucking away the air between us. Every part of me wished to be swallowed by the earth. Dying could not be as terrible as this. "Let me help," it wasn't a question. It was a demand. "I've interned with grief counseling." We made plans. I pasted on a smile and make-up and went to pick him up. A glimmer of excitement for the ounce of relief he offered from the pain ripping me apart, was the first touch of anything but torment I'd felt since Laura gave me the news. He got in my truck with a bad mood that was closer to a hurricane than a storm cloud. I tried to compensate. I wanted so desperately for one pe...

I was privileged to have a front row seat to the success of one of the fastest growing internet companies born in the twenty-first century. A success that while it was short lived, was the start of many imitations. Who am I and what was my role? I am the soon to be ex-wife of David Wood. I was there for the beginning, the success and watched from a distance the death of Empower Network, something I loved as deeply as if it were my child. I remember David and I talking about a name for the company, I wanted to call it "Generosity Lives," a name I felt inspired hope and would attract people who wanted to make money not just for themselves but for the good of the world. David considered that for about two hours before tossing it aside in favor of a name that would attract not just the soft hearted but everyone. DON'T DISCRIMINATE.  You have no idea who will make You a Millionaire! Before EN was conceived, David adopted and cast aside other companies. When...

As my FB friends know, I've been looking into monetizing this blog. At first, I was just going to turn on the option at the side bar which goes through ad sense. After learning that pays peanuts and I'd have to edit myself, I looked into getting an affiliate account. I read some articles on marketing with blogs and came up with two things I want to market on this. Number one, audiobooks on relationships and healthy psychology, number two adult toys. Here's the rub, audiobooks are considered safe and adult products are considered taboo. Apparently mixing the two is absolute insanity. No wonder STD's are spreading like wildfire. People who like sex aren't encouraged to build real relationships and people who want real relationships aren't encouraged to be bedroom bold by our society. Sex is healthy! Sex is GOOD and imagine this, it's GREAT FOR RELATIONSHIPS!!!!!! Our society splitting sex into bad and self-development into good explains why there are so ...

Your plans lay shattered in a million pieces. You're walking around with a gaping hole smashed in your chest from the words that ripped out your heart. You can barely breathe.  I remember those first three months vividly. I'd failed my marriage, my husband and myself. My dreams of being a perfect wife, of having the best marriage ever, all went perfectly to hell. Despite how many times I'd fantasized about leaving my husband and how awful my marriage was every inch of my body felt flayed, bruised and every bone broken.  Each nerve ending cried with a desperate need to be touched and held. Any vague reminder of my marriage, my spouse, was like getting kicked in the gut by a Clydesdale.  Three years later I look back and know it was all worth it, every excruciating moment.  The living torment led me to paths I never would have otherwise taken.  Desperate to escape the thoughts torturing my mind I delved into sleep hypnosis, audiobooks on relationships, communica...