Defining Sanity has recently undergone a major change. This website came into existence so that people who were depressed, anxious, angry, frustrated - completely incapable of accepting the world as it is - would finally have a place to turn. I wanted people to know that someone else exists in the darkness, suffering through the pain of a miserable life. Someone else knew how horrible the world is, how insignificant we are as humans, how meaningless and mundane is the substance of life. I wanted little more than to complain into space about a world that nearly killed me several times beneath the weight of my frustration alone.
But I'm tired of defining myself through my depression. Instead, I want simply to post my writings, for those who care to read them, for those who think of writing as an enjoyable and fulfilling way to pass the time we spend on earth. And I'd like to think that, one of these days, other writers, perhaps other lost souls who've discovered more about themselves through the act of writing, may come and join in the discussion, offering some thoughts of their own. So, please, if you have anything at all to say, feel free to post on the forum, leave a guestbook entry, or shoot me an e-mail to say hello. Eventually, perhaps, this site will turn into an online writer's workshop, where people can come to have their work critiqued by others. And to get that ball rolling, I am offering free critiques for stories of 5,000 words or less to anyone who would like some additional input on their work. Let me put my recent creative writing Master's degree to work!
To submit a story, please e-mail it to me as an attachment in MS Word format.
What's New?
A sample of things to come:
my latest short story,
Retrograde
PDF | HTML
Visit my forum here.
New Stories:
Retrograde (PDF | HTML)
Nerina (PDF | HTML)
Half-Empty (PDF | HTML)
Coming Soon:
Carnivalesque Pathology
Phobia
Unknown Soldier
Watercolors
Wishwash
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Life Sucks...but it's okay |
I struggled at length over whether or not I should keep my journal online. It was posted on the web initially because I needed to reach out to others who were depressed like me. I believe I thought I was trying to help others, but, really, I was probably trying to help myself. At this point, the journal seems to come into direct conflict with the rest of my life. I've worked hard to get where I am. Am I setting myself up to be discovered by my colleagues? Who hasn't Googled people they know just for the hell of it? Why would I want to jeopardize the way people see me at work? Is it worth the risk?
In the end, I decided that I just can't throw away something that is such a large part of who I am. This journal is what kept me alive through some of my worst times. This journal is how I met my husband. This journal is what I refer to on occasion as one of the most defining aspects of who I am, not because of what it says, but simply because it exists. This journal, at bottom, is me. I can't push it aside as if the anguish that created it had never occurred. So, here it is. Take it for what it's worth. No apologies or excuses from me.
Links in this section include:
Newest Journal Entry
Recent Entries
Older Entries
The Beginning
Hell
Hurt
Writers' Workshop
A place where aspiring writers of fiction
can come to discuss their work.
A Forum of Therapy
Discussion about mental health concerns.
General Discussion
Open discussion about anything at all!
