Shannon Rafferty
Shannon served in the United States Army National Guard (DC) and on Active Duty (3ID) as an Army bandsperson and training NCO. She served overseas in Afghanistan during Operation Resolute Support. Originally from Philadelphia, Shannon holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Performance and minor in Music History and a Master's Degree in Liberal Arts (Gender and Politics in Literature) from the esteemed University of Pennsylvania. She is a professional flute player, classical singer, and overall academic nerd. In addition to her musical prowess, Shannon is an avid writer who found herself re-inspired to write following a trauma she encountered during her military service. Shannon is thrilled to be able to share some of her works with the Mental Grenade community and hopes to inspire and encourage others to face their own demons through the arts. Outside of the military and the arts, Shannon is dangerously obsessed with travel, both domestic and international, and is equally obsessed with animals - namely dogs, the shiba inu breed, and her shiba-mixed mutt, Champ.
November 17, 2015….the day before my twenty-ninth birthday. It will forever remain in my mind as one of my most miserable and loneliest days, despite the fact that it, if my memory is accurate, was a...
I could turn around but all of my effort, the toll of my shame will have been for nothing....