That Maddening Imperfection
1993 That Other Me is a series that explores the immediacy and intimacy of various mental health episodes I’ve experienced throughout my life. The tail on that letter “y” isn’t right. I’m scribbling down my characters’ names for a story I’m writing. This is part of my standard practice. I always write down the names of every character I think I might possibly use, often overcompensating and ending up with lots who are never called upon. But that’s okay. I need to intimately know the world where my story takes place, so I populate it as densely as possible. You rarely get lost because wherever you go, there’s always somebody…
Unspoken Voices
1989 A voice. I’m sure it’ll speak soon. Just penetrate the night to accost me. I lie in bed, this worry growing into an obsession. My anxiety has escalated. Clusters of panic attacks have ambushed me repeatedly. In the last session I had with my psychiatrist, he asked me if I’d heard voices. I told him no. Then, terrified, I asked him if I would. He said he didn’t know. So it’s a possibility. Of course it’s a possibility. If it wasn’t, he would’ve told me, No! You won’t hear my voices! He would’ve laughed and dismissed it. He would’ve assured me. But I saw the concern in his face…