Molly McCloskey, the author of Circles Around the Sun, shares how one profound reading experience led her to better understand her older brother who suffers from schizophrenia. I can still recall, in the way one recalls the most powerful reading experiences of one’s life, lying on the bed in my studio apartment in Portland, Oregon, and reading “The Metamorphosis” for the first … [Read more...] about Finding the Other: The Metamorphosis and Compassion
Issues
Hunger and its Children
Schizophrenia and other diseases associated with starvation. The outward physical consequences of famine and severe malnutrition have been long known. They are the same everywhere. In his recent history of the Irish Famine, The Graves Are Walking, John Kelly describes them this way: “In the later stages of starvation, the eyelids inflame, the angular lines around the mouth … [Read more...] about Hunger and its Children
Sober
Malachy McCourt writes about being an alcoholic and what it was that finally made him stop drinking. Was I born alcoholic? That’s not clear but I know that the disease does not discriminate against race, gender, age, position, or religion. It is an incurable disease that can be handled by taking certain precautions, foremost of which is putting down the drink – anywhere but … [Read more...] about Sober
The Laughter and the Drink
The Irish are known for ‘the craic and the drink.’ Many well-known comedians have given up on one. People of Irish descent face a host of notions and expectations of how they should be – some based in reality, others plucked from the air and given weight over time. Chancers, charmers, affable but discerning, fiery but kind, quick-witted storytellers, and good drinkers. It’s … [Read more...] about The Laughter and the Drink
When They Want to End It
Suicide in Ireland, particularly among male teens, is on the rise. Sharon Ní Chonchúir reports. Few teenagers make a mark on Irish society in the way 16-year-old Tralee native Donal Walsh did. Having battled cancer on three separate occasions, Donal finally succumbed to the disease in May. But before he died, he spread a serious message. He spoke out urging people, especially … [Read more...] about When They Want to End It