When I was presented with the opportunity to interview J.M. Thompson about his memoir, Running is a Kind of Dreaming, I sprinted to say yes for two reasons; I’m an avid runner and wanted to know what inspired the title and it deals with mental health issues, specifically men’s mental health issues.
A few years ago, my twin brother was suffering from anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. I’m not telling tales out of school here, he chronicled all of that in his own memoir. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life was check him into the psychiatric hospital where he spent a long week of in-patient treatment followed by multiple weeks of outpatient treatment. It pained me to see this strong man, who I shared so many life experiences with, come to the brink of falling apart.
Even in this day and age, men’s mental health is still very much a taboo subject given our sex’s aversion to vulnerability. I hoped that by interviewing J.M. about his book, I wouldn’t just leave with another powerful story but that I’d also help the cause to raise awareness of men’s mental health issues in general.
But enough about me.
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