From D.W.: Today, Saturday as I write this, is Rachel’s birthday. She would have been 48 today. She died a month before her 46th birthday in 2024, so this marks the third time that I’ve had to do this without her. I’ve never been much of
From D.W.: I’m sitting in rehearsal for Romeo and Juliet as I make this post. It’s admittedly not my favorite Shakespeare, but there are worse. One of the things that’s always bothered me about this play, and particularly about most productions of this play, is that
Trigger warning: Discussion and visual depiction of self-harm From D.W.: There are, at times, confluences of events that feel so disparate and conflicting, and yet so intertwined that holding them all in your head at the same time feels discordant and shrill. Friday was the 25th anniversary of
From D.W.: I’m starting the process of putting together Rachel’s book. It’s a lot of work. And a lot of decisions. But one nice thing is that I get to sit with a part of her that very few people have seen and read words that
From D.W.: If you’re reading this when it posts, I’m out of town on a short road trip. That means that I pre-scheduled this post, and wrote this little intro before I left. In fact, I wrote it on Friday, the second anniversary of Rachel’s
Hello, friends. First of all, I want to express how sincerely grateful I am to everyone who has kept up with this site, and especially those whose generosity has made it possible. It brings me such joy to know that there are this many people who continue to be interested
From D.W.: This Friday will be the second anniversary of Rachel’s death. It’s nearly impossible for me to actually conceive of that. It simply doesn’t have a place in my dogma. And yet it’s a real and true thing that exists. And so, here we
From D.W.: I’ll be honest. This is a hard one to write. I’m not sure exactly what to say, really. Yesterday I made the difficult decision to have our sweet garbage dog Clementine euthanized. Time finally caught up to this little speed demon. I’ve lost several
Trigger warning: Discussion of suicide and self-harm. From D.W.: This coming Tuesday is the 12th anniversary of the tragically untimely death of Robin Williams. Maybe a strange topic for this site? Not really, no. His death had an outsized effect on Rachel. More than nearly any celebrity death
The writing of Rachel Graves Jones
From D.W.: I don’t get out much these days, but I got to spend the weekend with two of my oldest and dearest friends. Because of proximity and the normal obligations of adulthood, it’s rare that the three of us all have the opportunity to all be
From D.W.: I moved into my current house almost exactly one year ago, which was nearly one year after Rachel died. I didn’t particularly want to move into a new house, but one of the things that usually happens when you lose a spouse, a thing which is
From D.W.: I usually write a little introductory passage here. This time, though, I’m inclined to let this beautiful story speak for itself… Long Valley Lane. August 21st. 2011 ...like magic... I have never liked my hands. I have been trying to make peace with them since I
Trigger warning: Discussion of sexual abuse From D.W.: It’s a good thing that he dropped out of the race. Certainly, that’s true. Of course, it should have happened after we first found out about the tattoo. But hey, he shares a lot of my beliefs now, so
From D.W.: Things aren’t great, ok? Can we agree? They haven’t been great for a while. The world at most times feels like we’re trapped in a tire fire that won’t stop playing Morrissey songs. The profound cruelty masquerading as public policy is matched only
From D.W.: Our country celebrates its 250th anniversary this Saturday. Is it me, or is there a suspicious lack of enthusiasm for such a significant occasion? Our 200th anniversary happened the year before I was born, but I remember seeing the after-effects of it, bicentennial t-shirts, posters,
From D.W.: Apologies for the tardiness and brevity of this post. I’ve been pretty sick the last few days and, frankly, just haven’t had the juice to put in the work. But I hope you’ll enjoy this quick post-father’s day hit. Grow Christians. June
From D.W.: I suppose it’s safe to say that it’s officially summer now even though, as a native Houstonian, it’s always felt strange calling anything summer until it hits at least 96 degrees. Summer was always a special time for Rachel and me. We met and
From D.W.: Bodies, man. Am I right? These weird tote bags we’re all sloshing around in and trying not to talk about, or think about, or get too attached to. I’ve never had much affection for mine. It’s been at best a burden and at worst
From D.W.: In the last couple months of Rachel’s life she had been very seriously exploring a career change. I’m not sure how many people know that, but it wasn’t a secret, so I don’t think she’d be upset with me telling you. The
From D.W.: Sometimes, when there’s a lot going on in my life or in the world, I like to post a little quick hit here, rather than a more topical post. It’s a nice little break from the world, and a reminder from Rachel that not every
From D.W.: Rachel and I would often joke about which one of us would die first. We both insisted it had to be us, not the other one, because the pain of loss would be too great. “If you die before me, so help me god!” “If I catch
