The Silence of the New Mother You are supposed to be happy. That is what everyone keeps telling you. You have a beautiful, healthy baby. You waited for this. You planned for this. You should be glowing. But you are not glowing. You are crying in the bathroom while your partner has family over to … Read more
Reggie Halverson had been awake for nine days when his sister Janelle finally drove down from Minneapolis to his apartment in Madison, Wisconsin. He had quit his accounting job by email at 3 a.m. on day three, opened seven new credit cards by day five, bought a used motorcycle on day six despite never having … Read more
Marisol Tavares had been on Xanax for eleven years when her primary care doctor in Tucson retired in March. The new physician told her the prescription was “inappropriate long-term” and cut her dose in half on a Tuesday afternoon. By Friday, Marisol was in the emergency room at Banner University Medical Center with a tonic-clonic … Read more
When to call 911 vs 988 for a mental health crisis – what each number does, how to request a CIT-trained officer, mobile crisis dispatch, and family crisis planning.
Devon Rourke was sixteen the first time his mother Caitlin found the small, careful cuts on his upper thigh. They were in their kitchen in Worcester, Massachusetts, on a quiet Sunday evening, and she had only noticed because his pajama shorts rode up while he pulled a bowl from the dishwasher. Her instinct was to … Read more
Marcus, twenty-three, walked into a corner store in the Bronx on a humid July afternoon and bought a small foil packet labeled “AK-47 herbal incense.” Twenty minutes later, his cousin found him on the sidewalk outside, frozen in a half-crouch, eyes locked open, drool tracking down his chin. He could not answer his name. By … Read more