Recognizing When Home Is No Longer the Best Environment We need to see people for who they are, not their age, occupation, or abilities. Aging is often talked about in terms of loss. We hear about fading memory, declining strength, slower movement, and reduced independence. While these changes may be real, this framing of aging does more harm than good. It narrows our understanding of later life and quietly shapes systems of care that prioritize control over compassion. A mor

Why Trauma Extends Far Beyond the Headlines By Dak Kopec Trauma brings about many unseen storms within a person's mind. In my first two books, Broken Boys Beyond Friendships and Logan’s Legacy Beyond Blood , I included scenes depicting mass public shootings and other forms of group-inflicted violence. While writing these moments, I realized just how normalized these scenarios have become in our modern world. What once shocked us now feels disturbingly routine. Hate-related v

I tried to "just write." All I got were cul-de-sacs. By: Dak Kopec I don’t know how many times I’ve been tired, burnt out, or simply didn’t want to write, only to be told that I should just write anyway. This advice shows up everywhere. It’s said at least once during most writing workshops, it dominates the comment sections of social media, pops up in productivity threads, and arrives neatly packaged in well-meaning pep talks from my loving neighbors. The message is almost al