Love in Dark Settings

What was happening during this time: My parents were trying to find a school that would take me in. They weren't succeeding.

Background to my retro daily life entries

( My problems at school and my time at a psychiatric ward )

( Loading on the guilt trip to school officials )

( Tutor )

( A new school )

What was happening during this time: I was kicked out of school, just in time for an early summer vacation.

Background to my retro daily life entries


( School suspension )

( The Fourth of July and the Beatles )

( A hubristic child-writer's goals; plus, my family, and a description of my family's favorite toy, namely our electronic typesetter )

( Brain (early fictionalized autobiography) )

This is the first journal I ever kept, at the beginning of sixth grade. In imitation of the notebook kept by Harriet the Spy (I had recently read Louise Fitzhugh's novel about her), it was a stream-of-consciousness journal, where I gave a blow-by-blow account of my activities.

What was happening during this time: I was on my way to being expelled from sixth grade. (That happened the following spring.) I was bored with my schoolwork, was teased by many of my classmates, and was unbearably self-centered and whiny. I was also suffering from clinical depression and was engaging in what the school counsellor referred to euphemistically as "anti-social behavior." (I threw chairs at people when I got angry.) So this is my "rebel without a cause" notebook.

Background to my retro daily life entries

( A trip to the psychiatrist )

( School and a party )

( Not a good day )

( Playing hookey )

( A love affair )

( It was on January 18, 2005 That It Happened (early fiction) )