Language is a brushing broom, Sweeps intent and dusts desire, When it first reaches us, so far away, Yet within, the only force we know, Rushing forth from cradle’s cover. Language is a learning lamp, Gathers fuel and sets ablaze, Dark discoveries of limit and loss, Every chance of loyalty and love, Empty echoes on […]
When I was a boy, my heart broke double, Splintered edges and rough tools, The smell of home made strange, The sound of love distorted, Underwater, Drowned. When I was a boy, that same sound saved me, Caught me in calm moments, Made me whole again, fleetingly, As I waited to be dragged, Underwater, Drowned. […]
When you go, get gone with grace, Meeting wind, earth, cool and calm, Be light, like you showed me, Cast your crooked smile and disappear. When you go, fill up that space, Churning memory, identity, bits and bobs, Be you, like you showed me, Your ever and only one last time. When you go, take […]
I belong to the tiny fraction of science fiction enthusiasts who didn’t read Andy Weir’s phenomenally-successful breakout novel, The Martian. For whatever reason, it just didn’t appeal to me, although I enjoyed the film adaptation. But when my wife, friends, and favorite podcasters started gushing about Project Hail Mary, I decided it was time to send myself rocketing into Weir’s geeky […]
While exploring my new career goal of entering the mental health profession, I recently met a LCSW in my community who offers neurofeedback as a supplement to other therapeutic services. Eager to share her enthusiasm for this technique, she generously gifted me a copy of Jim Robbins’s A Symphony in the Brain. My honest first impression was […]
Consolations are words, strung together utterances, that explore experience but allow the essential mystery of existence to remain hidden. They come to us, through air, through ink, offering an embrace just comforting enough to help us bear the painful and frightful realization that we are alone, so starkly alone, that the words dancing through our […]
This was an odd moment for me to finally get around to reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer, which has been waiting on my bookshelf for ages. Bursting with energy and appreciation for all living things, the book reminds me that I am not a farmer, that I am not a naturalist––not in the true sense of those words, anyway. It […]
My best friend regularly refers to Toby Ord‘s The Precipice as “the most persuasive and impactful book I’ve ever read.” This attitude evoked a lot of eye-rolling and protestation on my part, but I eventually gave in when he was kind enough to buy me a copy. Now that I’ve read it, I’m happy to admit that […]
Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library is a whimsical yet heavy journey into the ultra-trendy land of multiverse narratives. The protagonist is Nora Seed, a bedraggled Brit who decides to take her own life after her personal shitcake of bad luck gets iced by a particularly lousy day. Instead of fading to black, Nora finds herself in a […]
I have spent the last two months going through the approval process to volunteer at my local hospice center. As a supplement to the excellent training I’ve received, I thought Atul Gawande‘s Being Mortal would be a useful companion as I learn to support dying people and their loved ones. As a surgeon, public health expert, and accomplished […]