Leigh Garred
Bio
Leigh is a writer, vlogger, and activist. She runs thephoenixheart.org.
Stories (6/0)
Sisyphus Love/Hates Rock
My hands gripped the bar tight enough to make the tendons in my wrist pop up from under my skin. My arms shook as I pulled myself up. My ankles crossed as I flexed my knees. The bar was level with my eyes and my back screamed in pain. One thought started to whisper in my ear, “I can’t do it.” I pushed that away. Because I had to. My muscles might shake, but I would overcome my own limitations.
By Leigh Garred3 years ago in Beat
12 Brides Part Two
~2~ After the main event, I wasn’t entirely sure what we were supposed to do. We settled for taking a bath to clean the sweat from our skin and chatting over cups of wine. We devolved into talking about our childhoods. Duncan told me about the place he was from called Annan and found himself in Corinth as a sell sword.
By Leigh Garred4 years ago in Filthy
12 Brides Part One
~1~ ~Orientation~ A long yawn escaped me as I sat on the stool, waiting to be called in. My father had loaded me into the cart with a satchel of my favorite belongings long before cockcrow. I rubbed my sandled foot against the side of the haversack. The rough hemp fabric was scratchy against my toes. I would have liked to bring one on my nicer bags, having many in silk and satin. But my father had insisted that a place like this, it would be better if it was nondescript.
By Leigh Garred4 years ago in Filthy
How to be an Ally
On May 25th, 2020, a white police officer knelt on the neck of George Floyd for nearly 9 minutes. On May 26th, the video taken by a 17 year-old bystander, Darnella Frazier, came up on my Facebook feed. I watched, at first confused as to what I was seeing. It was almost as if what I was seeing was so horrific that my brain was trying to protect me. When the truth, and horror finally landed, a deep well of sadness for this stranger hit me. But under that, was rage. A white hot rage that someone would so cavalierly take another person’s life. I didn’t care about his race. I didn’t care that he was someone I’d never met and had he lived to 100 years and died in his bed, I still wouldn’t have been likely to meet. I cared about his life because he’s a person. He had a family who still needed him. And this chicken shit cop killed him like it was nothing.
By Leigh Garred4 years ago in Humans
Love in the time of Corona Virus
One Friday night in the middle of March, while driving for Lyft in San Francisco, I started coughing. My chest hurt and I felt like I almost couldn't catch my breath. I called the advice nurse who scheduled a call with a doctor the next morning. I was beside myself. Was it Covid-19? Was I going to die? As a lifelong Asthmatic, I couldn't seem to keep myself from going to the most catastrophic scenario. And what about my passengers? Best case scenario, I'd only had it for 2 days, thus potentially infecting at least 40 people. Worst case, I'd had it for 2 weeks, and infected 200+ people.
By Leigh Garred4 years ago in Psyche