ABOUT THE AUTHOR
My name is Kit Troyer. I’m a stay-at-home dad in Los Angeles. I worked previously as a newspaper reporter and a criminal defense attorney.
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Category Archives: SELF HELP
MY DESERT-ISLAND CHORE
My wife likes doing laundry. It’s a welcome break from her day job, which tends to be demanding, highly social, draining. Doing laundry, on the other hand, is quiet and solitary, the clothes warm and fragrant when she pulls them … Continue reading
Posted in ANIMALS, SELF HELP, SPIRIT
26 Comments
STORM-DRAIN DIRT
I looked back the other day at something I wrote at the beginning of the pandemic. The piece seems naive, ill informed, and overly optimistic. But the basic thesis remains true — there were silver linings to the Covid lockdown, … Continue reading
Posted in DUMB SHIT I'VE DONE, ICE HOCKEY, SELF HELP, SPIRIT
24 Comments
ON CULTS, COURAGE, AND PERSONAL BLIND SPOTS
Something in me loves a TV show about cults. You name the group, I’ve watched the documentary — Scientology, NXIVM, The Family, Heaven’s Gate, the Rajneeshees, Branch Davidians, the Moonies, The People’s Temple. Why am I interested? On the one … Continue reading
BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE
Adam Braseel was wrongfully convicted of murder 14 years ago. Though he hasn’t been officially exonerated, he is out of prison now and beginning to put his life back together. The wrongful imprisonment was caused by sloppy police work, prosecutors … Continue reading
Posted in COURAGE, HEROES, SELF HELP, SPIRIT, UNIQUELY AMERICAN BULLSHIT
6 Comments
MINI BOOK REVIEWS
One silver lining of lockdown was that I started reading books again. Below are short reviews of a somewhat random collection, in case you’re looking for something to pick up. THE OVERSTORYThis 2018 novel by Richard Powers follows a handful … Continue reading
Posted in LITERATURE, SELF HELP, SPIRIT
9 Comments
WE ARE STARDUST
I was listening to the old Joni Mitchell song “Woodstock” the other day. The mood is somber and hypnotic. Her performance is flawless. One one level, the song is about the famous Woodstock music festival in 1969, which Mitchell was … Continue reading
Posted in MUSIC, SELF HELP, SPIRIT
9 Comments
DOSING THE OCTOPUS
My son is so disciplined about his daily weightlifting. I decided to get disciplined about something myself — anything. I picked meditating. I went back to it twice a day, 20 minutes at a time. Most of my meditations are … Continue reading
Posted in DUMB SHIT I'VE DONE, SELF HELP, SPIRIT
3 Comments
OPERATING SYSTEM
We increasingly use the language of technology to talk about ourselves as humans. “I need a reset.” “We should hit the pause button.” “Does he have the bandwith for that?” Along these lines, I was thinking the other day about … Continue reading
Posted in SELF HELP, SPIRIT
9 Comments
SIX HOURS
One day in Lebanon in the 1940s, Marie Simonian set out for the boarding school attended by her oldest child. Something was wrong, she could feel it. She walked six hours to reach his school. She arrived exhausted, dripping sweat. … Continue reading
Posted in SELF HELP, SPIRIT, THE ARMENIAN IN-LAWS
13 Comments