And I could have died right then. And considering how things went, I really should have.

Dad nods, looks me dead in the eyes; slowly and regretfully, he banishes all the smiling and joking from his face, and for once he's just my dad, watching his son who has fallen so low.

My brain was all right back then; it didn't get stuck in ruts.

I don't owe people anything, and I don't have to talk to them any more than I feel I need to.

Yes, Doctor. I'll do what you say. I'll do what you all say.

Relationships change even more than people. It's like two people changing. It's exponentially more volatile. Especially two teenagers.

A working brain is probably a lot like a map, where anybody can get from one place to another on the freeways. It's the nonworking brains that get blocked, that have dead ends, that are under construction like mine.