My Father the Werewolf
folks.pillpack.com
My Father the Werewolf
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Re: My Father the Werewolf
#2By far one of the better metaphors I've read regarding depression, especially how mine affects me and those I love. Heart wrenching, but wistful and happy. It seems the author has come to terms with his fathers struggle in a way not many do. Amazing writing.
Re: My Father the Werewolf
#3This was a fascinating read.
Slightly more fascinating was that was sponsored by a Boston area tech company who I know a little bit about since I interviewed there years ago. They have a cool business packaging meds for patients, aka the "pillpack". Interesting to see this as a community service project.
Re: My Father the Werewolf
#4This was a fascinating read. Slightly more fascinating was that was sponsored by a Boston area tech company who I know a little bit about since I interviewed there years ago. They have a cool business packaging meds for patients, aka the "pillpack". Interesting to see this as a community service project.
Just to add some context to this post: "My Father The Werewolf" was published on PillPack's in-house web magazine, Folks, which aims to tell humanist stories about people with health conditions. Folks publishes one story a day, fighting the stigma around being 'sick' by showing that managing health conditions is universal. We're fully sponsored by PillPack, which views reducing stigma around health conditions as part of its mission, but besides the mention of our parent company in the site logo (Folks, a PillPack Magazine), we don't advertise PillPack at all on our site.
I'm the editor of Folks, as well as the author of "My Father The Werewolf." Thanks to everyone who is reading the article! I'm really glad my Dad's story is moving so many people.
Re: My Father the Werewolf
#5A wonderfully written, really moving read. There isn’t enough out there that really humanizes mental illness and makes it accessible - I feel like every time I read something like this it helps me better understand my own relationship with mental illness. I just think the werewolf metaphor is dead on.
Re: My Father the Werewolf
#6Fascinating read, there's so many taboos and misconceptions when it comes to mental illness.
Hopefully articles like these help us understand more what is like.
Re: My Father the Werewolf
#7This comment previously had a statement saying that there was a current of domestic violence. That is a false statement. The author was kind enough to clarify and respond in the comments below. My sincere apologies.
Re: My Father the Werewolf
#8This comment previously had a statement saying that there was a current of domestic violence. That is a false statement. The author was kind enough to clarify and respond in the comments below. My sincere apologies.
I am the author. There is no undercurrent of domestic violence, glossed over or otherwise, in the article.
My father had a psychotic episode once, due to a 1-in-a-million reaction he had to a misprescribed medication. My memory of this incident opens "My Father The Werewolf." During that episode, he was utterly terrified, and not in control of himself; in fact, he didn't even know who he was, or who we were. He gets a pass for it, as surely as he would get a pass if he had a stroke while driving, and consequently killed someone with his car.
Other than that one instance, my father never raised his hand to me, and I never once saw him so much as raise his voice to my mother. I even called my mom upon reading your comment and asked her if he ever touched her: she was offended by the notion.
My father was many things, not all of them good, but he was absolutely not a domestic abuser. He was the gentlest man I've ever known.
Re: My Father the Werewolf
#9This comment previously had a statement saying that there was a current of domestic violence. That is a false statement. The author was kind enough to clarify and respond in the comments below. My sincere apologies.
Ah, the new popular concept where if you're not pointing something out constantly and disparaging it you're 'normalizing' it. What ever happened to common sense? Let alone context?
Yes, violently shaking a child is wrong and dangerous. Don't be inspired by this article folks! (Despite the fact the father's eyes were rolling back in his head and was clearly in a unstable state while this happened)
Re: My Father the Werewolf
#10This comment previously had a statement saying that there was a current of domestic violence. That is a false statement. The author was kind enough to clarify and respond in the comments below. My sincere apologies.
I am the author. There is no undercurrent of domestic violence, glossed over or otherwise, in the article. My father had a psychotic episode once, due to a 1-in-a-million reaction he had to a misprescribed medication. My memory of this incident opens "My Father The Werewolf." During that episode, he was utterly terrified, and not in control of himself; in fact, he didn't even know who he was, or who we were. He gets…
Thank you for your comment and clarification. I am sorry for the false accusation and for offending you and your mother. Forgive me for adding to the pain of your memory.