Category: alcohol

“invisible driving”: a memoir of mania and depression

here, finally, is a review long promised, of alister mcharg’s extraordinary memoir, invisible driving. this book, says alistair, reads with the urgency of a novel. my work delivers a wild and hilarious thrill ride through the misunderstood, phantasmagorical world of manic depression, providing both a visceral sense of the experience and a thoughtful context for… Continue reading “invisible driving”: a memoir of mania and depression

arrest them! no, not the drunk guys

i’m doing NaNoWriMo again this year, this time determined to do all i can to make it to the 50,000 word count. so my blog posts may be sporadic, or short and sweet, or both. like this one. only it’s not sweet. at a walmart in lethbridge, told by a friend: a drunk native fellow… Continue reading arrest them! no, not the drunk guys

alcohol, art, sobriety and escape

the following was a comment on my blog post alcohol and art. i really enjoyed the insights, and with the commenter’s (lew’s) permission, i am sharing the gift of his reflections here. it’s hard to know what’s real anymore. on the one hand i know that alcohol hinders me, certainly in my social life, but… Continue reading alcohol, art, sobriety and escape

taking responsibility: constance barnes and the braidwood enquiry

i was going to offer you another poem of sarah’s in this post but there’s something i need to say before we move on to that. the braidwood enquiry into robert dziekanski’s death, the polish immigrant who was tasered at the vancouver airport in the fall of 2007. and constance barnes. right from the very… Continue reading taking responsibility: constance barnes and the braidwood enquiry

up the down staircase

this is a guest post by my blogging and twitter friend alexander zoltai. it’s the story of how, down and out with alcohol and homelessness, he almost … well, read for yourself: at first, i was trying to push ahead when i really needed healing time. went from a homeless situation in ohio to florida… Continue reading up the down staircase

mental health week: alcohol and epilepsy

today for my post on mental health, i’d like to share with you a letter i received a few days ago from a fellow canadian. while it is about the mental illness of addiction, i’d also like to think about it as a move towards mental wellness; wellness achieved by sharing our stories with others.… Continue reading mental health week: alcohol and epilepsy

mental illness and violence

most people have little reason to fear violence from people with mental illness, even in its most severe forms. historically, in the 1950s, mental illness carried great social stigma, especially linked with fear of unpredictable and violent behaviour. while there is greater public understanding of mental illness nowadays, paradoxically, the perception of people with psychosis… Continue reading mental illness and violence