Bill Brenner

A Vision of Death And Rebirth

by Bill Brenner September 12, 2011 Coping tools

At the wake for Al Marley yesterday, Father Richard C. Messina gave a stirring description of what he thinks the afterlife might look like. Mood music: He described how people get excited when a baby is on the way. “The baby will be here soon!” friends and family will say. Then the baby arrives and the aunts, uncles, grandparents and family friends come to meet the little tyke. It’s the beginning of life. That, Father Dick…  [Read More]

Deal With It, Get Over It And Get Out Of My Way

by Bill Brenner September 12, 2011 Addiction

It’s been an emotional few days. I came to the edge of a relapse. A father figure died. Then there was the 9-11 anniversary. This stuff can burn a person down to nothing. But I don’t burn like I used to. Mood music: It’s funny how people react not only to their own adversity, but that of others. Some people become incapacitated with grief when a pet dies and some of us want to say,…  [Read More]

He’s With Sean Now

by Bill Brenner September 10, 2011 Coping tools

I write a lot about my friend Sean Marley in this blog because he helped shape the man I became and the struggles I face. Right now, I’m thinking of his dad, Albert J. Marley. Mood music: Al died a couple days ago. I got the word from one of the Marley cousins, who told me, “Al is with Sean now.” I’m sad, but more than anything else, I’m grateful — grateful that he was…  [Read More]

Airport Outrage, Ripped From The Headlines

by Bill Brenner September 9, 2011 Political discourse

I just wrote a post in my security blog about a woman being denied entry from Canada into the U.S. because police went to her house six years ago after she attempted suicide. It seems medical emergency calls now get you flagged as a potential terrorist. Read my full post here.

My Brain Is On The Pavement. But At Least I Showered

by Bill Brenner September 9, 2011 Addiction

It’s hard to pinpoint the moment my recovery started getting wobbly and I started getting sloppy. I don’t know if it’s fully accurate to call this a relapse, but it’s pretty damn close. Mood music: One thing is certain: I’m in a shaky place lately, and this is as good a place to sort things out. Talking is always better, but sometimes I have to write it. I’ve been very tired lately, and in my…  [Read More]

Screw Obama’s Jobs Speech, and Screw The GOP

by Bill Brenner September 8, 2011 Political discourse

Bad news, kids: That speech Obama is giving tonight will almost surely suck, just like last night’s debate of the Republican presidential candidates sucked. But it’s not all bad. Mood music: It’s funny how I used to get sucked in with every election as if life would suddenly change for the better when my candidates won. Looking back, it almost makes me feel stupid. When Obama was elected in 2008, there was a feeling in…  [Read More]

Which Believers Go To Hell First?

by Bill Brenner September 7, 2011 Communication Skills

Yesterday’s post on my journey from the Jewish faith to Catholicism rattled a few nerves and, I think, led to some misunderstandings about my attitude toward the faith of my youth. Mood music: One good friend said he hoped I realized that there was much more to a Jewish conversion than getting a circumcision. Another reader said that had I been living in Germany during the 1930s and 40s, the Nazis wouldn’t care that I…  [Read More]

Clearer Language From The Catholic Church On Suicide

by Bill Brenner September 5, 2011 Depression

For those, like me, who struggle with suicide, particularly how the Catholic Church feels about it, I have something useful a good friend sent to me this afternoon, presumably after reading this morning’s post. Mood music: http://youtu.be/jrRfoEEDENo From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “2282 Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.  2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation…  [Read More]

A 9-11 Obsession

by Bill Brenner September 2, 2011 Mental disorders

It happens every time the calendar rolls into September. I start watching documentaries about 9-11-01 and can’t stop. Mood music: Most people do this in the days leading up to a 9-11 anniversary, but for me there’s the OCD element, where after I watch something I can’t stop thinking about it. I’ll forget the rest of the world exists and just replay the scenes in my head over and over again. I’ve been like this…  [Read More]

Jay Nickerson From The Point of Pines, Revere MA

by Bill Brenner September 1, 2011 Uncategorized

A few months back when I wrote “The Lost Generation of Revere,” I forgot to mention someone very important to the story; a kid who died six years ago: Jay Nickerson. Mood music: I don’t remember Jay doing what a lot of us kids were doing: smoking pot and drinking under the General Edwards Bridge that connects Revere to Lynn, fighting (or cowering from a fight); bullying or getting bullied. Jay always seemed to exist…  [Read More]

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