redrosethorns journal

Conscious raising, frequently utilised by feminists, involves individuals sharing their experiences to enhance awareness of social, personal, and political matters. This method has proven highly effective in fostering unity, building communities, and shedding light on broader issues affecting diverse demographics worldwide. It's a means of expressing our identities and experiences, ultimately empowering us.

Inspired by this approach, redrosethorns launched an online journal publication aimed at facilitating conversations about mental health, gender, sexuality, self-care, and empowerment.

ISSN: 2978-5316 (online)

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Close-up of a cassette tape labeled greatest hits, lit by blue and red neon reflections with glittery bokeh.

Mixtape

I think some people will be able to relate to what I’m about to confess - and may even feel a great sense of shame and guilt as well - for being selfish and shallow in youth isn’t uncommon. And you may now even be sitting at your computer quietly weeping, like I am, remembering that one person from your school days who was never really cool enough to be seen as a friend, and was in reality only tolerated for selfish reasons - like being someone to moan to or as a prop to help

Mental Health

LJ Jacobs

7 days ago7 min read

Paper heart ornaments with printed text hang on a string, softly blurred people in a warm, dreamy background.

Love Beyond Time

I wish, my darling, we had met long ago, Unencumbered by our looming fears of inevitable pain, sickness, and death. Robbed by the inexorable march to the end.

Mental Health

Dan McCrory

7 days ago2 min read

Dark smoke and sparkling fireworks streak across a blue sky, creating a dramatic, chaotic scene

First Freedom

The first time I felt free, nothing spectacular happened, which is how I knew it was real. No anthem. No mountain. No airport scene. No shirt billowing in slow motion against a sky that had finally understood my suffering.

Self-Care

Sushanth Shyamsundar

7 days ago2 min read

Lone person stands in a wildflower field beneath dramatic black storm clouds in a stark black-and-white landscape

The Story of the Rain

Part 1. Lightning Till the day it ends, Late past the night, On the rocky shores, Dancing by the moonlight.

Mental Health

Sushanth Shyamsundar

7 days ago3 min read

Orange-and-black butterfly on dark blue flower petals against a black background, creating a moody, dramatic contrast.

Category Six

Yesterday’s sorrows should offer reason to prophesy a better tomorrow. Mandatory, to maximize the opening of the frontal cortex. So that one can replenish what’s essentially missing from the vertex. What a hypocrisy, to sit in the state of imagination

Self-Care

Reebie Ann Flowers

7 days ago1 min read

Black-and-white close-up of an outstretched hand and wrist with tiny flowers, softly blurred against a dark background.

Selflessness

Of course, a lot of individuals may not appreciate the seriousness of the title. In every line, the goal is always to provoke thought and invite the curious. Demote what doesn’t heal the soul inside and out.

Self-Care

Reebie Ann Flowers

7 days ago1 min read

Sunlight glows over dewy grass with blurred trees in the background, creating a warm, dreamy outdoor scene.

No Substituted Additives

Greet each morning with congruent positive affirmations. Meet each daily need by purifying the vessel with some H20. Not just with purified fluids, but what is bred when one hydrates the mind. Highly recommend a ritual to cleanse.

Self-Care

Reebie Ann Flowers

7 days ago1 min read

Surreal gray multi-armed woman statue floats over swords and smoke, with glowing embers against a dark background.

Authentically Rich

Rages-to-riches is the new theme of mental challenge. Allow me to carefully teach the meaning, to what it means to move through life challenges…

Mental Health

Reebie Ann Flowers

7 days ago1 min read

Silhouette of a woman standing on rocks by the water at sunset, with a city skyline and orange sky in the background.

An Unprecedented Testament

The wrath that sits in the midst of a free, non-preconceived energy. Is to sit amongst individuals who continue to craft an unfixed mindset. Cherish those who camouflage clauses that cannot be paused in the state of overfixation. Value the slow-placed measures.

Self-Care

Reebie Ann Flowers

7 days ago1 min read

View from a cave opening over a winding river, forested hills, and cloudy sky, with dark rocky edges framing the scene

Renewed

I’ve changed bodies so many times now I don’t fully recall how my original body and mind felt. Did the person I sell it to keep it for long, treat it well or use it for the lols?

Mental Health

A J Dalton

7 days ago1 min read

Colorful wildflowers sprout from a deep crack in a gray concrete wall, creating a hopeful contrast of life and ruin.

it’s not what you think

it’s your estrogen drop it’s your cortisol raging on stress it’s drinking too much water it’s stuck fascia it’s your pelvis tipping forward it’s your fatty liver it’s your lymphatic system it’s carbonated beverages in the afternoon

Empowerment

Stacey Murphy

7 days ago2 min read

Overgrown path through dense green woodland leads to a small weathered shed, quiet and secluded scene

Thanks for Letting Me Know

After receiving the news that my dad died, I visited my childhood home where the breeze from the backyard carried to me his familiar scent. I followed it to the window where the wind rustled through the taller-than-me weeds, and I saw him again as if I were watching an old film.

Mental Health

Jenny Morelli

7 days ago4 min read

Hand pressed to a rain-streaked window, looking out at a gray apartment building, moody and reflective.

Deleting You

For some reason, I just can’t do it. When I scroll through my contacts and see your name, I blink back my grief and keep scrolling. My head knows you’re gone. You were gone years before you died, but the finality of swiping the last of you from my phone might swipe the last of my memories of you from my mind, and then my heart, and I just can’t do it.

Mental Health

Jenny Morelli

7 days ago2 min read

Silhouetted parent holding child by the sea at sunset, with bright golden light and a calm, tender mood.

With a Mother's Precision,

Mom would line us up along the blue metal cabinets and shove a sandwich corner into each of our small mouths one after another, and we’d chew

Gender/Sexuality

Jenny Morelli

7 days ago2 min read

Small wooden garden shed with a horseshoe on the door, partly hidden by leafy trees and soft sunlight in a wooded yard.

Rock Solid

I asked if I could visit so I could see, once more, what Mom and I built so long ago, from beams and sheetrock to the final layer of calm, blue paint. It was our respite. Our sanctuary. Our solid-rock escape.

Self-Care

Jenny Morelli

7 days ago2 min read

Wilted red and pink roses леж on a wet gray park bench, petals scattered, creating a somber rainy mood.

Strength

Getting out of bed already bracing for what awaits me when I leave my cozy home nestled safely in a cul-de-sac, treelined and tucked away, forest creatures co-existing in my yard like humans could never do, birds chirping, squirrels chittering, deer

Mental Health

Jenny Morelli

7 days ago2 min read

Black-and-white photo of an older woman in a patterned swimsuit walking with a cane along a quiet beach by the sea

Toward the End,

it was a struggle to remember her own name, but Mom never forgot her Brooklyn address her forbidden boyfriend, Renee Ortiz, her first cat, Cotton, Splenda. Harmonies. Piano keys. Neil Sedaka.

Mental Health

Jenny Morelli

7 days ago2 min read

Wilted pink rose with yellow petals lying on a patterned rug, suggesting a faded, quiet mood.

Until It Wasn't

It had been perpetual summer. Until it wasn’t. They’d met and became inseparable, moving in together in 1990. Since then, there had been plenty of beach walks and weekly tennis games – matches that she frequently won.

Mental Health

Chris Lihou

Jul 312 min read

Close-up of a young man's face and hand in dark, moody light, staring intently at the camera.

Tell Me You Love Me

"Tell me you love me, or I'll punch you," yelled little Johnny as he stood over his toddler sister, arm cocked back and hand in a fist. "I wuv you, bubba," she said and blew him a kiss through milk bubbles. So, Johnny learned to order weaker ones to love him.

Mental Health