You would think this biographical tidbit would be relevant, especially given that Bush's supporters claim presidential politics appears to be playing at least a supporting role in this litigation. What a most curious omission. A s a veteran of many teen mental health organizations, I have seen antidepressants horrendously misused. Even the most abysmally malformed neurotransmitters need not keep a person who uses a combination of medication and self-honesty from becoming a productive member of society. I have seen people with incidences of sexual abuse, mental illness, and every horrific thing that could happen to a fragile child overcome their past and create relatively happy lives.
Life is hard.
Thinking that life will be the endless joy of a Doublemint gum commercial, we don't know how to handle ordinary life. Burton refers to a patient discussed in a recent New York Times article and expresses his doubts around her condition. I know how important that transition time of the late teens and early 20s is. For me, at that time, the question broke me away from my secular Jewish roots and plunged me into Eastern mysticism, and even a close brush with the Moonies. Had I run into Rabbi Skaist, my path might have been different.