I've been thinking about this,

Like many people, issues of mental heath and tragic violence have been on my mind. People have been talking about it on Facebook, and I have started to hope that we can finally have a serious and productive conversation about tragedy, and how we can best prevent one.

Recently, we've heard from a mother who sees echos of Adam Lanza in her own son as he grows. Wonkette wrote a compelling piece on the failure of the public discourse to engage with what she said in a meaningful or constructive manner. And then a doctor charged to heal those who are mentally ill spoke out, with a very clear and poginiant cry for help.



I am not Adam Lanza's father or his brother, or his teacher, or the tragic young man himself. But I can imagine him, and I can try to imagine what it might be like to be another young man facing mental illness.

I can only imagine how scary and frustrating it must be to alone in 
a mind that is not truly your own.

Especially in a society that is so uncomfortable with looking at you we only talk about extremes or after tragedy, when we can safely describe the person as other than ourselves, a monster.

I can only imagine what it would be like to know that I might harm someone around me, and know that there would be no one to help, or to stop me, until it was already too late.

I think that would be more terrifying and lonely than anything I have known in my life.