My Sister Built the Family We Never Had
At eight I ran away from home, then turned around because I couldn't leave my little sister alone in that house. It was the best decision I ever made. Years later, in a San Jose park, I saw the happy…
Tag: Resilience
Content on resilience: burnout, recovery, balance, and the endurance behind long creative and professional careers.
Grief and LossWhen Caregiving Ends and the Words Won’t Come
When caregiving ends, a lot of writers find the words stop with it. Why grief and burnout stall your writing, how long it lasts, and what kept me sane when my wife was sick.
Personal StoryWhat If Your Family Doesn’t Support Your Writing?
Most writers don't get much support from family. Why relatives call it a hobby, why their feedback won't help you, and how to keep writing for the people who show up.
HealthCan a Ghostwriter Help Me Write My Cancer Survivor Memoir?
A ghostwriter can help you write a cancer or serious illness memoir from recorded interviews, at a pace your health allows. When to start, how much medical detail belongs in it, and how to handle the parts you can't yet…
Book ReviewsThe Obstacle Is the Way
Marcus Aurelius wrote that obstacles advance action. Ryan Holiday spent a book proving he was right, organizing Stoic philosophy into three practical moves: how you see the problem, what you do about it, and how you survive when nothing works.…
ADHDFail Where It’s Safe: Comfort Zones, Hyperfocus and Face Blindness | The Impossible Puzzles Show, Episode 198
Richard Lowe's second regular appearance on The Impossible Puzzles Show with Mike Merkur: why you fail where it's safe and keep six months in the bank, why comfort keeps people stuck, the internet's anonymity problem, ADHD hyperfocus, face blindness and…
IntrovertIntrovert or Extrovert: How a Camera Changed My Life
I spent most of my life as a deep introvert, and grief pushed me deeper. What pulled me back out was a camera. Here is the story, and what it taught me.
Overcoming Writing ResistanceFailure Is Success: What a Lifetime of Failing Taught Me
I have failed constantly, and learned that failure is success. The failure is never the problem; what you do with it is. Here is what a lifetime of failing taught me.
Critical ThinkingHow Writing Builds Growth and Emotional Intelligence
Writing is one of the most effective tools for personal growth, emotional intelligence, and clear thinking. Here is how putting thoughts on paper changes you.
CreativityMike Merkur: Driving the Bus While the Pizza Flies
Leadership is driving a school bus while everyone in the back throws shoes and pizza. Mike Merkur on being fired fifteen times, hiding the workshop from the customer, and using neurodiversity instead of fixing it.
FamilyThe Hypervigilance That Ruined My Childhood Made My Career
The systematic thinking I built to predict my father's explosions turned out to be the same thinking that reads a failing system. Nobody warned me the skill would transfer.
ResilienceWriting Burnout: What It Actually Looks Like
Running at 12,000 words a day has a price: a crash that can flatten you for days when you misjudge it. Most burnout advice treats it as a willpower problem, which it is not. It is structural, and it has…