I’m a failure!… And I love it! (video)
It’s easy to analyze my creative ventures and come to the conclusion that they are failures. 😩 And it used to be easy for me to conclude that I was failure as well. 😭 But I’m not a failure… I was just looking at the wrong numbers. 📉📈 I love what I’m up to… ❤️️ And here’s a video where I talk it all through… 😜
The Depression and Anxiety Episode (podcast)
With my novel (I Only Cry with Emoticons) coming out in just a few weeks, I figured it would be a good time for us to discuss my relationship to depression and anxiety over the years. Turns out that I used to date depression but now I'm hooking up with anxiety. So... yay??? Check out the latest Neurotic Tornado 😫🌪 podcast episode.
Spiral of Foreboding (podcast)
The next episode of the Neurotic Tornado 😫🌪 podcast is live! So far, we’re actually pulling off the every-two-weeks schedule!… This episode was a little bit trickier to name. Even when I hear good news (like a positive book review or when a cool radio personality wants to interview me), I’m capable of being filled with dread and a sense of foreboding. So my wife comes up to the attic to help me figure things out. Again. ❤️️❤️️❤️️ We also talk about why my sense of object permanence is only slightly better than a baby's. 🥄🥄🥄 You can listen to the episode right from this blog post with the button below. But even better, instead of listening to the episode here like a digital caveman, you should really just subscribe to the Neurotic Tornado 😫🌪 podcast!
Publishing Purgatory & Pants
I've lost my focus. I have a book coming out in two months and I have no idea where to put my attention. It feels like I'm doing nothing and everything at once. I’m working on too many things but don’t know which things are the most important.
So let me list out the pieces of my messy month and see if I can come out the other side with some insight that could be useful for anyone, regardless of what kind of month you've had…
The Pain in My Head (video)
Who wants to watch a ten-minute video about chronic pain and headaches!? Of course you do! In this latest video, I walk you through the experience of having a nine-month headache... I've been a little bit obsessed with trying to think about (and talk about) the suffering associated with chronic pain. And so I made this delightful romp into my headache saga. I actually do intend it to be entertaining to watch, regardless of whether you can relate -- at the very least, it'll be easier to stomach than a presidential debate. This video will also be used as a quasi-valid excuse for why I haven't responded much on social media, or gone to many social events, or been productive at my creative projects in 2015, or failed in all the other ways. Enjoy!
S3-31: It was a good marriage, but... (podcast)
In this podcast episode, we begin our quest into this season's relationship. Meet Nikki. She was mostly happy in her marriage, but there was one thing missing. Listen to the episode to find out what she was looking for...
16: New Frontiers of Vulnerability
In this podcast episode, we discuss vulnerability, shame, and my own craziness. We talk about Brené Brown’s research and we talk about the essay I recently published. Join us for this delightfully vulnerable romp...
12: Marrying an Insecure Angsty Depressive
In this podcast episode, I talk to my wife about what it is like to be married to an insecure, angst-ridden, depressed person. Is it as sexy as it sounds? I was particularly insecure and full of anxiety in the first few years of our relationship and we talk about how that impacted our relationship. Join us for this delightful romp! (p.s. The podcast name has changed to Neurotic Tornado. Sorry. The podcast feed is the same -- you don't have to do anything to keep receiving episodes.)
10: Our Couples Counselors
In this podcast episode, the wife and I take you on a tour of every one of our couples counselors. What could be more arousing than analyzing a whole bunch of analysts?
8: Our Dark Periods
In this podcast episode, I talk to my wife about our "dark period." Actually, she clarified for me that we have had several dark periods -- these are periods in our marriage where we have really struggled to connect, nearly to the point of it all falling apart. Not only do we talk about our dark periods, but we talk about my obsession about talking about our dark periods. And we talk about my (previous) fear of having kids. What's not to like?
7: Never Good Enough
In this episode, I bully my wife onto the show. Listen to her talk about my various failings as a husband. Everything from my failures as a lawn mower-er to my inability to plan trips with the family to our combined attraction for Angel, the brooding vampire with a soul from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What's not to like?
tctpod-season1-02: The second big thing (with Scott Sparling)
In this podcast episode, I talk with Scott Sparling about the challenges of writing the second book. We talk about bringing a work-in-progress into your heart when it wasn't born in the heart. We talk about the egomaniacalness of comparing your work to the Beatles. We discuss the pros and cons of having a deadline for your writing project. We discuss bad book sales, writing in tree houses, stones on the beach, delusions of grandeur, depression, tenacity, stubbornness, and masturbating while writing. Enjoy! ...
tctpod-season1-01: The depressing episode (with Telaina Eriksen)
In this podcast episode, I get to talk to my friend Telaina Eriksen about how she is able to write about grief and death in her essays. I first met Telaina in 2008 when we both were in the Antioch University low-residency MFA program. I’ve been wanting to ask her about how she gets to these difficult places in her writing for a few years now, and this so-called podcast thingy gave me the chance. Join us for this delightful romp through grief and loss and death.