Published Work
Adopt This Suicide Prevention Approach
My first time in a psychiatric hospital was traumatic. In a room with white walls and chairs bolted to the floor, fluorescent lights buzzed. Staff gripped my arms tightly. “Stop resisting!” they shouted, but I was sobbing and shaking so hard I barely heard. As they pinned my body to the ground, the nurse jabbed…
Read More“Better” Asks Us to Reframe Conversations About Suicide
What drives someone to die by suicide is an enigma that will forever exist on the edge of our understanding. Although we can never truly know a person’s thoughts in their final moments of life, Arianna Rebolini gives us an intimate look inside the mind of someone who’s been there in her debut memoir, Better: A…
Read MoreMy Rapid Rise to Substack Stardom: A Billion Subscribers in Six Days
Hi Kidney Beanies! I cannot believe how my Substack newsletter has grown. I still remember struggling to reach that 100-subscriber milestone—until I found that gold mine of an email list from organizing our 20th high school reunion. (Go Squirrels!) But with a lot of persistence and A LOT of Adderall, my Substack has flourished. It…
Read MorePharmakon: Book Review
Four thousand miles, an ocean, and a sea between us, Mallorcan writer Almudena Sánchez and I live with the same invisible illness: depression. Or, as she describes the condition, “Nightmares, if they happen at night and in bed, are bearable. What’s unbearable is for them to occur in the world of our five senses.” Although…
Read MoreHow to Talk Like a Normie: A Step-by-Step Guide for the Autistic
The following satire is based on my experience with autism: Continue reading on Greener Pastures. Written by Marisa Russello.
Read MoreTalking About Suicide Helps Us Stay Alive
One winter evening in early 2019, I relaxed on a blue sofa as about six people trickled into a dimly lit room for that night’s peer support meeting, which I was leading. After greeting each other and grabbing coffee or flavored seltzer, everyone joined the circle of comfy couches and chairs. I began the session…
Read More9 Things I Learned in Megan Stielstra’s Memoir Course
When I read The Wrong Way to Save Your Life by Megan Stielstra, I knew I had to apply for her intensive year-long memoir course, the first of its kind offered through Catapult. These intensive “generator” courses are offered every so often for writing memoirs, essay collections, novels, and poetry. There are even generator classes aimed at specific…
Read MoreCatapult Audio Showcase
Our competitive 12-month memoir generator course is designed to help students create and refine a submission-ready draft. Alongside a group of talented peers and under the guidance of an accomplished mentor, writers spend a year together building their books from the ground up. As part of their graduation showcase, our 2021 generator students have been…
Read MorePanic in the Freezer Aisle
I can’t go to the grocery store anymore. I’m hiding in the car, crying without a tissue to wipe my snot and swiping away my feelings on my phone because I couldn’t survive shopping in a damn supermarket. My whole life I’ve lived with OCD and anxiety, but THIS, this was new. Continue reading on…
Read More13 Ridiculous Questions People Ask About My Bipolar
And how I’d like to respond. Continue reading on Buzzfeed. Written by Marisa Russello.
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