Funny and frightening stories from an American expat who spent the pandemic in Mainland China.

"In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends" John Churton Collins

To the woman who taught me about the Golden Rule and the Rules of Evidence; how to walk the narrow path of righteousness and how to avoid...

A subscriber who is a fellow writer and who suffers from a mental illness that isn't addiction emailed me with kind words about my piece...

In which I discuss injecting xylazine sourced from a veterinary lab during my wayward youth, which was a lackluster experience if ever...

Does photographer Mark Laita's YouTube channel "Soft White Underbelly," which chronicles the lives of addicts and others at the fringes...

Some reflections on what a year and a half of involuntary separation due to the COVID pandemic has taught me about my relationship with...

This picture has nothing to do with rehab; it's a seaside resort in Southern China. There are rehabs that look like this, though. On the...

What to listen to when the heebie jeebies are getting the best of you. These tracks are transcendental, poetic, wistful, sublime: A detox...

Do we deserve the epidemic of addiction that's swallowing the U.S.? Dark thoughts for a dreary day. Beijing hood. I lived around the...

Cat Marnell competing with yours truly for the Sloppiest Person of the Century Award (photo courtesy of Getty Images). *4/15/2024:...

This is the first installment of the China Chronicles (aka the Last of the Laowai or any other twee alliterative pair that you'd care to...

First Step of NA / AA: We admitted that we were powerless over drugs / alcohol; that our lives had become unmanageable. I am the first...

First Step of NA / AA: We admitted that we were powerless over drugs / alcohol; that our lives had become unmanageable. Doctor please,...

Is it a fiery pit, eternal separation from God's love, or perhaps just insight into the true nature of things? I have spoke with the...