After a difficult weekend at a family graduation, I found myself reflecting on loss, isolation, disability, and the life I thought I'd be living. Sometimes being left to your own devices isn't loneliness—it's freedom.
Category: Substance use
So What Are You Doing to Fix It?
Sometimes the biggest changes aren't visible. A memory from the Army, a lesson from Burning Man, and the realities of stroke recovery led me to a simple question: after all the complaining, what are you actually doing to fix it?
Self-Medication in the Wasteland
Long-term stress changes more than your emotions. It changes your body, your brain, and eventually your survival instincts. A reflection on narcissistic relationships, chronic cortisol exposure, PTSD, grief, and the dangerous comfort of self-medication.
The Grace Well Runs Dry
A raw letter to my mother three years after her death, reflecting on grief, sobriety, domestic violence, regret, family, military service, faith, and the complicated process of learning to forgive yourself.