I see how I’ve been transformed since doing all the right things. Also WordPress is rewarding me for my hard work. It has indeed been hard coming back from schizophrenia and alcoholism. The latter alone was bad enough, but schizophrenia carries a negativity with it to the point of despair. Somehow I didn’t give up. My family forsook me but I didn’t surrender. I still had hope, courage, and strength that came from I know not where. It was like Aristotle’s prime mover: simply the desire to be actualized. To become real. The reason I love Thomas Hardy’s tragedies is because they challenged me to prove his vision wrong. He is a writer of great power and persuasiveness, creating a whole little world, a county called Wessex, which is under his complete control. But Hardy has had his say. Now it’s my turn to make a statement in his face. Life is not all tragedy. There can be happy outcomes too. But I have Hardy to thank for inspiring me on the comeback trail. I read The Mayor of Casterbridge nine years ago and thought it was the best novel I ever grappled with. It made me want to write an antithesis to it. I believe that antithesis has been my life ever since…
robgradens 