I Wrote My Way Out

How writing helped me escape poverty, failure, and suicidal ideation

Photo by Samantha Hurley from Burst

The first time I heard Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece, Hamilton, I was blown away. One lyric immediately spoke to me:

I wrote my way out

It’s from the song Hurricane, the 13th song in the second act. In the musical, it describes how Alexander Hamilton wrote his way out of poverty and hopelessness.

That line was written for me.

I’m nowhere near the genius that Alexander Hamilton was, or that Lin-Manuel Miranda is, but writing is how I escaped the rubble of my failure.

Privilege and Poverty

I was lucky. I had a lot going for me. I’m a white male with an advanced degree. I come from a middle-class background. I am privileged.

But, when I fell, I fell hard.

My anxiety disorder fueled a mental breakdown that resulted in the catastrophic failure of my business. I was the sole source of income for our family, and my business had just imploded.

We were broke, and unsure how we were going to feed our four kids.

Our family declared bankruptcy, went on SNAP, Medicaid, and TANF. You may know SNAP as food stamps and TANF as welfare.