I can't believe I haven't written since October. Since that time, I have switched jobs, redirected a lot of anger at those who have control over my path, struggled with some personal demons, battled institutional bureaucracies (several of them!!!), and solidified what I want to do when I grow up. It's been a challenge. I have found that I am more resilient than I ever thought I could be. While in this time of transition, I have been reading more than I have been able to in many many years. Some of it has been great (The Arrival, The Wall, Seems Like a Funny Story, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, ....). Some of it crap (Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You). And, much of it highly useful to the new class I will be offering this coming fall.
The title I just finished last night was Brent Runyon's The Burn Journals. It's a rather graphic and disturbing account of the author's adolescent depression, his survival and recovery after setting himself on fire in a failed suicide attempt, and some of the normal growing up process and anxieties of a fourteen-year-old boy. Powerful, frustrating, riveting, eye-opening -- all describe the narrative for me. There aren't that many books out there that help to explore the depth of adolescent depression. Though not without a few significant flaws, this text is useful in helping readers to understand the darkness through which some teens struggle.To balance out the darkness of that text, I'm reading Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles: The Nixie's Song this evening. I think Harlem Summer by Myers will be next for tomorrow.
Well, back to reading. I hope to write more and post more often now that my mind is back on track with life and my career goals.
1 comment:
You're back!
Based on that title (someday this pain...), you've gotta think that it just might be crap.
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