September 27th, 2023 “I may have been sober, but I didn’t start to get well until I could accept who I had been, who I was becoming and accept any distance there was between the two.” – Nadia Bolz-Weber I got my oil changed yesterday morning. They put a little sticker in the upper-left cornerContinue reading “Oil Change”
Tag Archives: Sobriety
The Weirdos, Part I: The Flying Squirrel
August 7th, 2023 It’s no secret that Ashley Maypole, the main character of my comic The Flying Squirrel, is the Weirdo most like me. He’s an alcoholic comic book writer with Imposter Syndrome and an unhealthy obsession with squirrels. He has a son and a Boston Terrier and a best friend who looks a lotContinue reading “The Weirdos, Part I: The Flying Squirrel”
the graetness of being human
July 10th, 2023 “Every night you make somebody’s day.” I can’t easily explain why I’m still in the restaurant business after all these years. There are the reasons I keep freely between my fingers like playing cards, displaying them when people ask me to show them a magic trick. As a writer who makes veryContinue reading “the graetness of being human”
Bad Brains + Bad Hearts
July 1st, 2023 The world lately has me feeling a kind of sick, and I’ve been having to remind myself of a lesson I learned early in sobriety. When I got better, my first instinct was to help everyone else get better, too. It’s not a bad instinct, but it’s a naïve one, and itContinue reading “Bad Brains + Bad Hearts”
Untitled
June 25th, 2023 Seeing people so unabashedly, recklessly happy has filled my insides. I would love to do something weird and thank everyone who went to Twin Cities Pride and Taylor Swift this weekend. Through the magic of being human, your joy has been a highlight of my summer; you are all a Bomb PopContinue reading “Untitled”
The History of The Next Step, Part V: Honesty & Happiness
May 24th, 2023 At the start of Love & Fear, I apologize for falling asleep; at the beginning of Honesty & Happiness, I (unapologetically) crack open a cold beer (literally) and proceed to black and then pass the f— out. Honesty & Happiness is the angriest, sharpest, and saddest Next Step record, and it tookContinue reading “The History of The Next Step, Part V: Honesty & Happiness”
Platform of Pain
May 19th, 2023 If you would have told me when I was a kid that I would eventually build my life on hurt, I would have told you that you say really weird things to kids. But you would have been right. I was having a recorded conversation with a friend earlier this week (forContinue reading “Platform of Pain”
tragic/miracle
May 1st, 2023 Normal people wake up in their normal beds on the morning of their birthday and they post the cutest pic they can find of themselves on the internet to announce that they are a year older, a whole three-hundred-and-sixty-five-days wiser. I stayed up until midnight to post this photo of me I’veContinue reading “tragic/miracle”
Us: How do I love failure? Let me count the ways
April 17th, 2023 I’ve mentioned several times that the story of my book, Us, is the story of failure; but today, I want to count the ways. Because I’m an eternal optimist, however, failure is always only half of a story. The other half is a lesson, an annoying ray of sunshine as a bookendContinue reading “Us: How do I love failure? Let me count the ways”
Because It Kills You
March 15th, 2023 Any ride you survive was worth taking; eventually you’ll take one you don’t. If you’re a normal human who does regular person things (jealous!), you probably don’t read everything I post (and if you’re a weirdo who does, okay, I see you, too). So if you missed it: back at the beginningContinue reading “Because It Kills You”
The Den 