I read this story when it came out in mid-’16. I was moved by it then. I just reread the comments and went “Ooh! Sounds like something I would say....” to something I said.

Anyway, it’s just another layer of heartbreak that things have gotten so much worse.

I was hoping there’d be a followup from Elizabeth in here…

 Yeah, I was a freshman when it started, so...yeah.

21 Dump Sheet?

Yeah, but someone would have to clean it up.

I wish you were my parent!

It’s a dangerous illness, but it’s not terminal. I’ve been living with it for decades. My help has been variable: good and bad doctors, good and bad meds. I’ve always had a strong inner core, and I’ve managed to have people around me who understand. Those things help a lot.

Thank you for saying what you said: “There are people every day who are winning the battle.” We don’t hear about them. (About us. About me, anyway.) Many of the conditions that lead to suicide are awful illnesses like depression and anxiety and bipolar, and many people are fighting these illnesses every day. It can be…

When he first did a WU about his illnesses, I was thrilled to see someone being so funny and sad and real about his life. I can’t think of any stranger for whom I have more of a desire to celebrate and wish the best. I’m fascinated by how he navigates this stuff.

Love to you in your struggle with our common monster. You sound like you have the insight and strength and sense to deal well with that fucker depression.

This infuriates me. Any time you get clinicians having to play the insurance people by slanting their reporting, you’re just making the truth harder to find. (By “you” I mean “anyone,” and my anger is at the insurance system, not you or the GPs.)

I had a friend in social work who was my first exposure to info about BPD, and she said just what you say—people with BPD were beyond difficult to deal with.

Sadly, I also knew someone who died of suicide after (supposedly) she couldn’t deal with a BPD diagnosis. (I say “supposedly” because suicide is a lot more…

The evil is out there. But the good is out there, too, even if the evil keeps making all of the noise. I don’t know your exact situation, but you can find people to love you and care for you. Living in a way that isn’t in accord with who you really are is one of the unhealthiest things you can do. I wish you happiness.

I’m not LGBTQ, but I’ve visited Shepherdstown, and the place seems like it’d be a great fit. If you’re a city lover, you can visit—or even commute to—D.C. But right in town there are arts, food, theater, friendly people...I love Shepherdstown.

Can I go there retroactively?

Mine was taped on in D.C. in the sixties. Glue?

Years ago, I read in Martha Stewart Living that to clean baskets, you should gently rinse them and then place them “in dappled sunlight” to dry.

I had the same experience lots of people on UM had...I heard the news and got all excited, but no one in my regular life cares.

OT, but what are the nesting dolls next to her? Is the big one Jesus or Rasputin? (Or Jared Leto?)

I’m sorry for your loss and the horror of it. I’m heartened by your approach to it, your strength, your openness to healing.

Percy Shelley’s cremation was about as goth as it gets.