It’s Nice to Meet You!

An introduction from Emily Buenting.

I’m 47 and just moved to Bethesda, MD from Boston, MA within the last year to be closer to family. It feels like returning to my roots since I was born in Towson, MD.

It’s been my life-long dream to be a writer, so I started writing again. It’s been about a month and a half and here I am. A bonified writer.

I’ve spent a lot of my life struggling with mental illness. I have bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD. I write and publish posts for my blog, The MadWordsmith: Life with Mental Illness twice a week.

I also signed up for Medium and have written a mish-mash of pieces from personal essays to political rants to poetry. I am thrilled to be a part of the publication Illumination and their community of writers.

In Boston, I had a 7 year-long career working with pets. I began as a dog walker, leading my packs of pups as big as 14 on walks. Then when my new baby Shih-Tzu, Gracie Woo-Woo, came on the scene I started a “wee” doggy daycare. Gracie is now 3.

In 2011, I had a nervous breakdown that landed me in the hospital and ended my career as a boring business executive.

Much to my friends and families surprise, I earned my MBA from Simmons College in 1995. My undergraduate degree in English from University of Connecticut with a concentration in Creative Writing was much more befitting of me.

I grew up in Pittsburgh and Connecticut.

I was born legally blind due to a congenital optic nerve deformation. Thankfully as I grew, the eyesight in my right eye greatly improved. I’m completely blind in my right eye. It’s not dark, its like trying to see out of your cheek.

My last name is pronounced [buhn-ting] — the spelling makes it telemarketer-proof.

In very broad strokes, that’s a bit about me.