Fear and Self-Loathing

Isaac Fitzgerald bio ↓ · August 19th, 2009 · filed under Other

“Losing my job was a wake up call. But being disregarded as a person lit a fire in my gut. I started my car and peeled out, middle finger extended and the burden of five unhappy years left behind.”

From Matthew Newton‘s “Fear and Self-Loathing in America’s Rust Belt,” a moving personal essay about family, fear, optimism, and being fired. (Part 1. Part 2.)

The essay is part of Newton’s new series at True/Slant, Mental Notes, which looks at “job loss, mental health, and the undying pursuit of art.”

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Isaac Fitzgerald has been a firefighter, worked on a boat, and been given a sword by a king, thereby accomplishing three out of five of his childhood goals. He has also written for The Bold Italic, McSweeney's, Mother Jones, and The San Francisco Chronicle. He is the managing editor of The Rumpus. Follow him on Twitter. More from this author →

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Fear and Self-Loathing

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