all the king's men - by Adora Svitak - the pillow book

I am on my third call of the day to try and get an appointment with a therapist. This time last year, I had an intake call with a no-nonsense psychiatrist who interrogated me over Zoom about eating habits and thoughts of suicide while I, holding her up on my phone screen, kicked through piles of dry leaves in my neighborhood’s sleepy residential streets. That intake call led to a referral to group therapy: more Zoom, friendly faces who I sometimes see around campus. We give each other small smiles, furtive recognition.

I am on my third call of the day to try and get an appointment with a therapist. This time last year, I had an intake call with a no-nonsense psychiatrist who interrogated me over Zoom about eating habits and thoughts of suicide while I, holding her up on my phone screen, kicked through piles of dry leaves in my neighborhood’s sleepy residential streets. That intake call led to a referral to group therapy: more Zoom, friendly faces who I sometimes see around campus. We give each other small smiles, furtive recognition. I’m not in group anymore. After a few sessions with an older…

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