A life in words

  • Painkillers for the mind

    Once upon a time as a 14 year-old I became very depressed. I was told I had depression, a serious illness that I would have to treat by taking antidepressant medications for the rest of my life. I started taking Paxil (a drug since linked to increased suicidality in young people) and it seemed to…

  • Mark I Bread Prototype

    My first attempt in recent memory at cooking one type of what may be the world’s oldest food: bread! Lessons learned: Cooking bread with olive oil maybe works. At first the bread tasted strange, but by the next day it tasted quite good. I think next time I’ll try using butter or vegetable oil to see…

  • There is no fear in love

    You might say I’m something of a late bloomer. At least, that’s how I feel sometimes. As a teen and through much of my twenties I was so hunkered down just trying to survive that I never really learned how to thrive. Still trying to figure that part out. In any sort of love story…