Oh hey. I’m Lisa Sugarman.

Think of me like this… I’m you and you’re me.

It’s really that simple. I just live in a different house in a different town in a different state with a different husband and different kids than you, that’s all. Otherwise, we’re like twins.

Because, like you, I’ve got kids. I work. I’ve got stress. I food shop constantly (like I’m there every damn day). I’ve got a Tide-to-Go stick in my bag 24/7. I cook and clean and pick up after literally everyone in my house. I always need a nap but never take one. I love my kids (in spite of how annoying they are). I love my husband Dave. I love our two cats. And I love our one-eyed rescue dog, Mabel. I adore my family. I love my foxhole friends.

I’m also a proud ally AND member of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as a survivor of suicide loss. I lost my dad Jim when I was 10 years old, but didn’t find out that he took his own life until about 35 years later when I was 45. Now, because of that life-changing experience, I’m a passionate and vocal advocate for suicide awareness and prevention and I’m telling my story as a way of encouraging others to tell theirs.

Sometimes I feel scared. Sometimes I feel annoyed. Sometimes I cry. I cut coupons (when I remember). I sing really, really loud to gangsta rap when no one else is in the car. I hide a “secret” twenty-dollar bill in my wallet that my kids always find (damn kids). I work out at 5:30 AM just to fit it in. I fertilize my plants every Sunday like it’s a religion. I kiss and hug my grown-up kids waaay more than they’d like. And I’d rather be with my family than anyone else. No contest.

And I write books and opinion column called It Is What It Is  to express all that. Kind of like bleeding a radiator so it doesn’t explode.

What do I write about? Uh, everything—the challenge of raising kids, the stress of being a wife or a parent, the pressure of finding and keeping a job. Mental health and suicide awareness and sexuality and gender identity. I write about all of it. I write about the stuff that’s on my mind, which, ironically, is the same stuff that’s probably on yours.

Mostly, though, I try really hard to keep all my balls in the air every day, but occasionally a rogue one cracks me right on the forehead. Proof that even though we’re all trying really, really hard to get it right all the time, we just can’t. And we won’t. So we need to stop stressing over it and realize that our best is just going to have to do. Because that’s actually where true happiness comes from.

So see, we’re like the same person. Which is exactly why you’ll be able to relate with a lot of what I write about. Because that’s what you’ll get when you read my opinion column or my books or hear me speak. You’ll get funny (hopefully poignant) little nuggets of truth (and hopefully a little inspiration) that you can jam in that little unusable square front pocket in your jeans and pull out later, when you need a kick in the ass.

That’s me.