The Other Me

An ongoing serial about neurosis, beginning with anxiety that burgeoned through my teenage years, and grew into issues also with depression and OCD, amongst other things.

  • The Other Me

    The Other Me

    ‘Epilogue’ i. As I stepped into my new life, I settled into a routine: work; come home and work on revising whatever I’d just finished; make dinner and wash up; then work on something new in writing. Every now and again I would catch up with friends. It wasn’t much, but it was more than I’d ever had. One night I had just made dinner when a friend I’d studied with messaged me that a mutual friend had taken his own life – a young guy, in his mid-twenties, smart, witty, handsome, and talented. He’d even written a novel, which he had told me in the past he was slowly…

  • The Other Me

    The Other Me

    ‘The Other Me’ iii. I resubmitted the manuscript that had been chosen as part of the Program, but it was rejected, the publisher feeling it was strong, but didn’t have a specific market. The manuscript was then rejected by all the other publishers I submitted to, although some were glowing about it. A smaller publisher accepted it, but had a contractual clause I couldn’t reconcile, so that turned into a pass. But I did get an agent, which was a huge accomplishment after all this time. I continued to write, almost obliviously, but also thought about its place in my life. It had developed a therapeutic value, letting me interpret…