Author Archives: admin

Mental illness can feel like a life sentence in solitary confinement, without possibility of parole. There’s just no point. But even in the most hopeless lives, having just one positive thing to do, one activity to focus on, can change … Continue reading →

Help is out there, often in unlikely places. One afternoon, I was riding a MUNI bus through a working-class San Francisco neighborhood. Seated across from me was a group of young African-American men, dressed mostly in sweat clothes with basketball … Continue reading →

My friend Cesar works with homeless and troubled people, and he’s really good at it.  But when he asked his Goodwill job training class in San Francisco if they had ever been leaders, they were baffled. Some got angry. “How … Continue reading →

I used to lead a six-week self-management program for people with chronic conditions at a Kaiser Permanente hospital. Iris was 60 years old when she came to one of these classes. She was a short woman with straight black hair … Continue reading →

Seven years ago, I was rescued by people who never knew they were saving me. That May, I was stressed out about finishing my first book, and trying to pay bills with free-lance writing gigs. Because of stress or for … Continue reading →