“The chief thing is to love others like yourself, that’s the chief thing, and that’s everything; nothing else is wanted…And yet it’s an old truth which has been told and retold a billion times — but it has not formed part of our lives!” (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) As some of you may know, I served a…
Category: Revise
Breaking MY Silence on Suicide | My Interview with KSL
My wife practically forced me to press play. I watched most of it through a raised glass, distorting all of the images. I’m not too comfortable being on camera, unless I think I’m funny. And suicide isn’t funny. In any case, my interview for KSL’s special on suicide is now online. You can watch it…
To Interview and BE Interviewed
I was interviewed yesterday for a KSL special on suicide prevention (KSL is a Utah-based television station). It’s producer, Candice Madsen, had read the story of my attempted suicide and contacted me last week via Facebook. She asked if I would be willing to share some of my thoughts on camera. I hesitated. Typically, I’M…
How "The Seven Paths" Met Berrett-Koehler
I’m proud to formally (and finally!) announce that ANASAZI Foundation and Berrett-Koehler Publishers have joined hands to publish The Seven Paths: Changing One’s Way of Walking in the World, in August 2013. Exciting, isn’t it? Well the story of how this all came about is just as exciting! So, since I’m finishing up my internship…
Zion and My Semester at Nauvoo
Every autumn whenever the leaves change color and the weather turns cooler, I remember Nauvoo. In the fall of 2004, I spent a BYU Travel Study semester in Nauvoo…and it was one of the most incredible, Zion-like events of my life. For over three months, I—along with 110 other students—studied Church History, American Literature, Pioneer…
Seeing the Savior in Crime and Punishment
At age 27, long before he would become the titan of Russian literature, Fyodor Dostoevsky was sentenced to four years of hard labor in Siberia for crimes against the state. Before his deportation, he was given a leather-bound copy of the New Testament. In her memoirs, Dostoevsky’s wife, Anna Grigor’evna said that “During the entire four years…
An American Founding Mother – Phillis Wheatley
Kidnapped and sold into slavery at age ten, Phillis Wheatley overcame tremendous disadvantages and became the first African American to have ever have their writing published in America—and the first American woman to ever be published. Her writings touched upon the lives of other prominent Americans like George Whitfield, George Washington and countless others; inspiring…
Refinishing a Solid Oak Dining Table
I found it in our storage shed last September: a dining table of solid oak. It has been in our family for as long as I can remember. It served as our dining table when we lived in Anchorage, Alaska; it was where we had our family meals, our birthday celebrations, and our Thanksgiving and Christmas…