Barbara Carson Todd

Writer, Editor and Occasional Organist

United States

I write stories that build relationships. I write stories for people with websites and blogs. Artists and entrepreneurs and people with what they think are ordinary lives.
I also write and edit books, e-books, scripts, screenplays, pitches and persuasive sales copy for a wide variety of clients.

Articles, samples and stories are mostly on https://medium.com/barbaracarsontodd. Some are included below.

Book excerpts below, are also found on Medium. Some chapters begin their lives as articles or short stories, until they're ready for publication.
Https://kindle.com/inferiorgirl (YA) is on Kindle, with another YA novel to follow soon.
I blog for health and wellness sites, after researching/ghostwriting several books for clients.

I spent years working for nonprofits, helping people with intellectual/developmental disabilities to find services. My Facebook page, https://facebook.com/carsonadvocates offers information and updates on advocacy.

Look for the stories that please you; ask for the ones you'd like to see.
Especially yours. I'd love to hear it.
Please contact me at [email protected] or email me below.

Portfolio
Medium
02/05/2021
When The Truth Comes Out Online And You're Okay With It

I'd usually sign up for another stab at online dating as Valentine's Day approached. I tried ignoring the day, but advertisers were relentless. I'd stop by the drugstore on the 15th and pick up some 50% off chocolates. Still-fresh, and half the price? That was something to celebrate.

Articles

Medium
06/22/2019
The Unsavory Truth About Gaslighting

And How To Avoid This All-Too-Common Form Of Abuse I had to look up the term, 'gaslighting.' It wasn't one I used in conversation, but I lived it, for the first twenty years of my life. My third oldest brother and older sister gaslighted me from as far back as I can remember.

Medium
04/02/2020
Lessons on Distancing from a Special Needs Parent

My younger son, Joe, is quarantined in his group home in Westchester County with three other nonverbal young men with autism. They're cared for by six individuals, direct service providers (DSPs) who travel from their homes in Westchester, Connecticut and the Bronx.

Medium
01/19/2020
Go See Your Mother

I can sum up this story in four words: go see your mom. Don't have time to read this story? Fine, just go see your mom. The story doesn't really matter. She does. And tomorrow may be too late. My husband and I just spent a couple of weeks caring for my mother.

Book Excerpts

Medium
03/09/2019
21 Things I Learned In My First Year of Dating

21 THINGS I LEARNED IN MY FIRST YEAR OF DATING. It was an exciting day, when my youngest left home. We hauled everything up to her 5th-floor dorm room and admired her fingernail-size view of the East River. After sixteen years, growing up in the wilds of Sullivan County, my worldly-wise child was eager for this next chapter in the big city.

Medium
01/03/2018
Every Day Is A Gift: JJ Hanson Says Goodbye to Family and Friends

Every Day Is A Gift: JJ Hanson Says Goodbye to Family and Friends A moment, finally, to catch our breath after a busy Christmas week. To realize the year is dying. To hold on to this moment, before everything changes. A good moment to realize, "I am."

Medium
09/17/2018
When Love Forces You Into The Spotlight

If your child has special needs, you carry an extra burden, more so if you're a single parent. If you're normally a very shy person, like me, it will be a shock to find yourself thrust into the public spotlight. But moms and dads will do things for their children they'd never do for themselves.

Copywriting: Case Studies, Content, Scripts

Stories, Fiction

Medium
03/14/2019
NESTING ME, NESTING YOU

He'd just moved his stuff in, and I suspected he was getting ready to propose. I wasn't sure if I was ready for that. What did it mean, to be a couple? What would "us" look like? But he said that's...