Obsession, Possession, Shame & Writing Memoir
“I wrote those [short] stories because I was possessed by them and wanted to exorcise them from my system… Isn’t creative writing all about being possessed, seized, obsessed?
Meeting Our Authentic Voice
My Voice Hello. My name is Jasmine. I first went mad in Africa in 2004. Since then, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve gone mad. My madness got so bad it culminated
The Beginning of the End of Involuntary Treatment
In this moment, I end involuntary treatment. I’m no longer compelled to treat a mental illness I never believed in anyway. But I sought healing, nonetheless. For now, I stop
Being Present
In this moment, I’m in a good space. I feel peaceful, relaxed, and content. I listen to my body. I notice I’m thirsty, so I drink a glass of water. The water replaces m
Vulnerability Hangovers Need Not Stop Us from Speaking Up
When did you last experience a vulnerability hangover for speaking up about something? You know, that hot feeling of shame coursing through your head, chest and gut after you were
On Bohm’s Creativity and Wholeness
As I engage in my creative practice as an emerging artist and as someone who knows madness, I ask myself: What drives me? What is creativity all about? A book on my shelf promises
Speak To Me
When will my voice speak to me, so I can write? Alone in the forest, as empty as the trees are full. Birds circle around me, drawing me in. I’m breath on the wind. I’m all
At Home in The Pandemic on a Raft
Written March 2020 Are you at home in the pandemic? I am sitting at home during lock-down writing about my experiences with madness, and the crisis of this pandemic feels familiar
Swallowed by the sun
I stand at a crossroad in the forest. I am on sodden ground. The decay has set in. How can a man marry such sunken existence? How can he care about this life not lived? Dew beads r
Dark Process
First, I think a thought. It is a shadow at dusk. Rarely is it the sun’s clear light. So, I write the shadow. I put a full stop. I sit and wait for light. Nothing. I am used to n