JD O'Meara

Unlike many writers, I can't honestly say that I've had a lifelong love for literature and writing. Encouraged throughout most of my schooling to study math and science, I was introduced to literature as a discipline late in my undergraduate career. It was really only during my graduate studies that I began to fully appreciate the act of writing as a form of inquiry and expression. This appreciation notwithstanding, it was still only after a breakdown that I myself turned to writing in a desperate attempt to understand myself.

Because my writing is so personally motivated, I choose to keep much of it private. The texts I offer here, however, are notable exceptions.

Although it began as a highly personal and private work, whatever.odt ultimately -- and to my pleasant surprise -- blossomed into precisely the sort of text that I wish I had read when I was younger. I've chosen for this reason to share whatever.odt with anyone whom it might interest, in the hope that the genderqueer individuals who need it most will find and be empowered by it.

Blue Jeans is a far more universal text than whatever.odt in that its narrative structure whisks the reader through the disarray and disjunction of a mental breakdown. My hope is that it will provide vicarious solace for those who have had such an experience, and foster patience and understanding in those who have not.

Website: http://drdoogs.com
Twitter: @DrDoogs

affirming    anxiety    breakdown    bullying    cultural analysis    death    depression    dreams    empowering    gender    gender identity    genderqueer    humor    memory    phobia    queer    therapy    transgender