I hate self-promotion. I abhor the soul-crushing humility that asking for help requires of me. Yet, for the last several weeks, I found myself asking Continue Reading
The Price of a Sting
I don’t care about politics. I’ve said it enough times that maybe I’ll eventually believe it. Still, I try to balance the daily onslaught of upsetting Continue Reading
Waiting Room Storytellers
I went to my local VA clinic this week to get my eyes checked. While waiting with pupils as big as marbles in the “dilated eye waiting area,” I Continue Reading
Progress in a Crooked Line
Progress. What does that even mean? Moving forward for me always looks like a drunken shuffle—sidestepping ideas, passions, and near misses. One step Continue Reading
From Failure to Steady Ground
In 2015, I was a failure. I’d spent the previous five years chasing a calling, a dream, or maybe selfishness. I found myself at my wits’ end, with Continue Reading
When the Win Finally Counts
For years, it felt like I was running a hundred miles per hour in the wrong direction. I’d work twice as hard going the wrong way to somehow still end Continue Reading
Better Late Than Never
I’m writing the first lines of this article thirty minutes after it should have gone live. It likely won’t be finished until hours later. I’ve written Continue Reading
Stop Aspiring and Start Becoming Undeniable
For the last few weeks, I’ve been doing the rounds as a guest on podcasts and being interviewed by some traditional media outlets. Many of them have Continue Reading
Throwing Seeds Into Winter
Frost crystallizes on the tips of the windblown grass in my backyard. The temperature has dropped below freezing and has stayed frigid for weeks now. Continue Reading
War // The Grit in My Teeth
Sometimes when I think of the war, my war, I see all the things I was way back then. A lump develops in my throat. I was young, idealistic, and Continue Reading
I Died of Exposure and Still Refused Fear
In 2015, I felt the winds of change blow into my life in a big way. I had been traveling the Southeast for the last four or five years doing a weird Continue Reading
Midnight Knocks and a Hatchling in the Dirt
I’m scrambling for some semblance of literary excellence to bestow upon you, dear reader. I’m currently sitting in a motel room near Topsail Island, Continue Reading