Year One: My Ten Favorite Posts
Highlights from the first 12 months of Ever Get Home.
This Substack turned one a few days back. I’m taking some time to express my gratitude and reflect on the past year, before we look ahead. After choosing ten posts, I started working on ranking them. But that just didn’t feel right. So you’re getting these in the order they were written, starting with a trip back to the place where I was born.
1.
Back to the Start
We talked for an hour and a half on the drive from Chapel Hill, one of the best conversations we’ve ever had and easily the single best in quite a while. I asked a million questions about the years before and after I was born. Why did he and my Mom move to North Carolina? Why Emerald Isle? I wanted every detail.
2.
We Gotta Start Somewhere
“What’s it gonna take for you to actually go surfing?” My friend Bri is soft-spoken and kind, a constant encouragement. She is a counselor by profession and it’s easy to imagine she’s a good one. So when—during our Sunday group a few weeks back—Bri asked the question above, we all just about fell over laughing.
3.
What Started Is a Thing That Still Remains
“On Saturday, the Taste of Chaos tour is in town and I’m not even sure we can get in, but doors do open and minutes after parking, we are on stage for Thrice, one of her favorite bands. She stands ten feet from the drummer, smiling constantly. It is a bright moment there in the music, as light and rain collide above the stage."
4.
It's Also True I'm Disappointed
When it comes to mental health and preventing suicide, hope is a significant piece of the puzzle. In my work before To Write Love on Her Arms, I was a sales rep for Quiksilver and then Hurley. I represented those brands. As the guy who started TWLOHA, I suppose I spent the next 15 years representing hope.
5.
The Best Hug I've Ever Seen
Declan didn’t let go. He didn’t say a word. He just continued to hug Emily. They were standing by the couch and so Emily sat down. Declan, still holding on, simply melted. He was now sitting on Em’s lap, head tilted low in the nook between her shoulder and her face.
6.
On Trying Not to Cry Before a Colonoscopy
Television takes on a different meaning when we feel afraid or feel alone. And so at 7:35am yesterday, after checking in for my colonoscopy appointment, I go from having never watched a single minute of Magnolia Network to being incredibly invested in the building of a modern cabin in Big Sur.
7.
My TWLOHA Exit Was Announced Two Years Ago Today
The first gray hairs started showing up before I was old enough to buy a beer. Heck, I wasn’t even old enough to vote and suddenly old-person things were happening on my head. I wasn't ready. For a while I shaved it. All the way, meaning bald. My hair wasn’t thinning—that would come later—but in removing everything, I didn’t have to face the gray.
8.
Until The End of The World
U2 at Sphere. Atomic City. A generous invite from my friend Brian who lives in Scotland, thanks to his sister Shirley grabbing four tickets the day they went on sale. Brian’s wife Vicky would make the trip as well—the three Scots plus me for the fourth concert in the early history of this impossible venue, the fourth show in the Las Vegas residency of my all-time favorite band.
9.
Resolutions on the 13th Day of January
No one is coming to save you. People need other people but you alone are responsible for your life. If you want things to change, if you want this year to feel different, you will have to be the person who shows up.
10.
Wish I Was Here
It is the winter of 1992 or maybe ‘93. Josh Lehman throws a football in a game on Cardinal Drive. I catch the ball running full-speed, straight into Elliott’s mailbox. The mailbox falls to the ground and I do the same thing. A trip to the emergency room for stitches just above my lip. Three decades later, this scar is the closest I have come to a tattoo. It’s something that I cherish.
***
Honorable Mention:
The Only Speech I’ve Had Cut Short
Ever Get Home: About the Title
Ted Lasso and the Game Plan for Connection
What if we want connection but find it difficult…?
Thursday, April 11 - Avoidance
Wednesday, April 17 - “I Wish I Had More Friends”
Tuesday, April 30 - Imposter Syndrome (sold out)
Saturday, May 4 - Imposter Syndrome
Thursday, May 9 - “ADHD (I’m Learning How My Brain Works)”
If you’re interested in booking me for a speaking event, the thought sure makes me smile. Whether it’s in-person or virtual, keynote or workshop, public or private, the awesome team at Collective Speakers can help.
NEEDS AN OCEAN is a beach brand born from new appreciation. I started this little passion project back in 2020, when I was living in East Nashville.
If you have a favorite post, I would love to hear which one and why. 😊