No magic bullet

September 17, 2017 4:36 AM

My Father, the Werewolf
When I was a kid, my Dad taught me all about werewolves. Little did I know he was preparing me to understand his depression.
posted by Joe in Australia (18 comments total)

Huh. I just finished reading I Kill Giants, which has a similar vibe.
posted by signal at 6:08 AM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

Wow. The writer shows such generosity of spirit in looking at his father in totality. It is so hard to see one's parents' clearly and kindly. Thanks for posting.
posted by Measured Out my Life in Coffeespoons at 6:44 AM on September 17, 2017 [12 favorites]

Absorbing.
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:52 AM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

Thank you for this great find-
posted by NicoleyDarko at 9:12 AM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'm reminded of the actor Donald Briscoe. He was in his twenties in the late 1960s, working in NYC, when the symptoms of a severe bipolar condition started getting really bad. He started self-medicating, mostly with LSD and copious amounts of marijuana, and no one person is quite sure what else. His symptoms got worse and worse and eventually he just didn't show up for work one day. Nobody could find him, so his remaining lines were assigned to add a player and he was hastily written out. His parents eventually found him on the streets in LA; they brought him home to the family farm, and he never recovered enough to leave. He died of heart disease in his forties.

Where it gets interesting is that the job he was working in New York was playing a werewolf on the supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows. I sometimes wonder, did his condition make it easier for him to understand his role, or did playing his role make it more difficult for him to cope with his condition? Or, did it give him a safe space to talk about it without actually talking about it?
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:37 AM on September 17, 2017 [10 favorites]

Or, was the werewolf role written in full knowledge that it was a metaphor for manic depression and knowingly assigned to an actor who understood the role?

The transparency of the metaphor is what made the first season of Teen Wolf so solid.
posted by subdee at 9:48 AM on September 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

So though, through his library, he’d practically lived in Europe since he was 18, he never expressed interest in coming to visit me during the decade I lived there

I wonder how many young American expats end up abroad due to a desire to get distance from their troubled families.
posted by roger ackroyd at 11:03 AM on September 17, 2017 [5 favorites]

...because depression has no future.

Man, the whole thing was very hard to read. I'm understanding a lot about people I know, and about myself.
posted by Cobalt at 12:57 PM on September 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

Yes, it really wasn't an easy read, but the mature love and compassion just floored me. And coming from a child to his parents, too - it's very hard for children to forgive their parents.
posted by Joe in Australia at 2:43 PM on September 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

That hit very close. Thank you for posting.
posted by Cuke at 5:35 PM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

I pray to god, on the very very bad days, that my child will have something like this depth of understanding what is wrong within me.
posted by geek anachronism at 8:11 PM on September 17, 2017 [7 favorites]

Wow, that essay is just incredible. So very, very sad, too. I'm glad the author is able to describe so many instances of feeling loved by his father. That seems to give him some measure of comfort, at least so I hope.
posted by salvia at 10:33 PM on September 17, 2017 [2 favorites]

I've meant for quite some time to sit down and write something, someday, about bipolar as lycanthropy. It's the best analogy I've found. I still might write that thing someday, but meanwhile I'm glad this exists. Thank you for sharing it.
posted by Stacey at 6:47 AM on September 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

Hi guys, I'm the author of "My Father The Werewolf." I'm just chiming in to thank everyone for reading the essay; it's obviously an important one to me, and I'm really glad so many people are finding it moving. Thank you so much. If you have any questions, I'll be checking the thread!
posted by DrCrypt at 5:13 PM on September 18, 2017 [19 favorites]

Hey, that's awesome that you came by to say hello. Thanks for writing that essay. I'm sorry for your loss of your father.
posted by salvia at 8:59 PM on September 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

Thanks, Dr. Crypt! Your writing is incredible, and I have the greatest admiration for your courage in sharing so openly and honestly.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:00 AM on September 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

This was fantastic. DrCrypt, thank you for sharing your story. I'm so sorry for your loss.
posted by bardophile at 7:26 AM on September 19, 2017

Great read. Reminds me a bit of Michael Chabon's Werewolves In Their Youth.
posted by benzenedream at 12:51 PM on September 23, 2017