Rose Christo

Hey guys,

Over the past few years, I've gotten tons of letters along the lines of, "What happened?" and "Are you okay?" I've been too overwhelmed to answer them individually, so I'm sorry for that.

First off, I want to thank everyone for being so kind. It's MORE than I deserve, but it solidifies the idea I've had for a long time that people, by nature, are considerate, empathetic beings. I'm not just talking about the kindness you've expressed to me, but the kindness I see you express to one another, completely unprompted. Every day, I'm a little more grateful to belong to this species. I mean that.

Those of you who know me closely won't be surprised by this, but a couple of years ago, I was diagnosed with something called schizoaffective disorder. This came as a complete shock at the time, but now that I've had the clarity afforded by distance and medication...yeah, it's obvious something was going on. The disease is apparently genetic, so the onus was on me to get screened. Better late than never, right? Treatment is reparative, but there's ultimately no cure. It's something I'll have for the rest of my life. Fortunately, I have amazing friends, an amazing community, and an amazing wife, all of whom offer me more support than I deserve and help me get through this day by day. I owe it to them to try and become the best version of myself. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

So you can stop worrying. I don't check my old email much, which is why I've taken literal years to respond. I'm not on any websites besides Amazon, which I don't really look at. (I actually forgot my password until now). I'm not much of an internet user in general anymore. This is likely the last time you'll hear from me. I love you all. Please treat one another as kindly as you've treated me. If you think about me at all after this...well, don't bother. But I'd really like to see mental illness destigmatized. It's surprised me how much mental illness is swept under the rug or mocked. I feel like those attitudes disadvantage and disenfranchise all of us--most of all those of us who don't realize we're sick. Imagine if you went to the emergency room with a broken leg, and the triage nurse laughed at you.

That's about all I have to say. Thank you again, guys. Keep being incredible. Most importantly, stay safe! These are scary times, but if we exercise prudence and compassion, I'm hopeful we'll pull through. Compassion is emblematic of the human experience. We'd be nowhere without it.