Every city has a haunted house. Mine is all of downtown Bellingham. The bars, the alleys, the breakfast tables, the blocked contacts, the empty chairs. I changed my name, got sober, lost almost everyone I knew, and I still have to walk through all of it. Here’s what it looks like when your whole former life becomes a ghost, and you realize you’re the one who got away.
Probably conceived to Dark Side of the Moon. Definitely delivered to Maniac. Music has been my whole deal since before I could even choose it. These are the 25 songs that have been carrying me through 2026 so far, and honestly, some of them would shock the old me. That’s kind of the point.
3.5 years. Two hospitalizations. One note that said “Get help” on an empty bedroom door. This is the story of my estrangement from my daughters, what I had to burn down to become someone worth coming back to, and how I found my way back to them. This is not a highlight reel. This is the whole ugly house.
40mm accountability alcohol sobriety amends anxiety avoidance bass music bellingham washington bipolar disorder black and white photography boundaries breakups cannabis sobriety childhood trauma codependency courage CPTSD dance dopamine deficiency downtown bellingham ego death electronic music emotional sobriety estrangement family fatherhood fear of abandonment fear of loss of love fear of rejection Fixed Zoom freedom friendship full color photography gratitude grief guilt happiness healing heartbreak identity death identity transformation integrity internal family systems joy kratom sobriety little squalicum pier lived experience long distance walking loss love major life changes manifesto mental health mindfulness mindful photography monochrome music nervous system regulation no contact ownership parental wounding parts work patterns performing personal growth photography platonic relationships psychiatric hospitalization psych meds psychosis radical acceptance recovery relationship damage relationships remorse rescuing resilience Ricoh GRIIIX secure attachment self-advocacy self-compassion self-discovery self-love selfies shadow work shame slow photography sobriety sovereignty starting over street photography transformation trauma truth unconditional acceptance unconditional love unkillable unrecognizable urban photography vulnerability
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