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David Foster Wallace (February 21, 1962 – September 12, 2008)

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2017 has been one of the most difficult years for me as a therapist, so difficult that I strongly considered giving up my practice and going into a different line of work altogether. It is the first time I had ever experienced burn out on the level of questioning why I am in this line of work at all, and whether or not I am effective at it. Why was this year so difficult? To start things off, one client I worked intensively with for almost a year became so frustrated in session that she yelled at me to go fuck myself, stormed out of my office, and was never heard from again. Two other clients tried to commit suicide and were thankfully discovered in time prior to completion. But the one incident which has impacted me more than anything in my 20-year career in social work was having my first client complete suicide. He had two other serious attempts in the 4 years that we worked together.          My client was a passionate book reader and was proud of the collection he had ama
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James Victor "Vic" Chesnutt (November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009)

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Although born in Jacksonville, FL, Vic Chesnutt was adopted and raised in Zebulon, GA. He began writing songs at 5 and at 13 declared himself an atheist. His grandfather was probably his first real musical influence; he gave him guitar lessons and had him transpose “Sweet Georgia Brown” into every key in the musical scale. While driving drunk at 18, Chesnutt had an accident that left him partially paralyzed from the neck down in addition to losing partial function of his arms and hands. There has been speculation that this accident was a suicide attempt. He spent a month in the ICU with his head and neck in traction, with his breath being controlled by a ventilator. OT and PT helped him regain function and strength in his hands again so he could resume playing the guitar, despite having lingering paralysis in his left arm and right hand. Despite the fact that sensation returned to his legs a year later, he chose to continue using a wheelchair rather than a walker. He st
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David Roberto Hellman (May 28, 1980 – January 13, 2006)

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                      Better known in the glam metal world as Dave Lepard, he was the guitarist and lead singer for Crashdïet. Lepard was from Uppsala, Sweden, was initially in a band called Warpath, and used to play an instrument called the charango which is a small Andean stringed instrument that belongs to the lute family.                         Crashdïet had somewhat of a cult following in Sweden and were not so well known here in the US. Their debut album Rest in Sleaze entered the Swedish charts at No. 12 in 2005. They were heavily influenced by sleaze/hair metal bands such as Twisted Sister , Mötley Crüe , Skid Row, and W.A.S.P.   Lepard was outspoken and unashamed about the lifestyle he led. Band members reportedly became frustrated with his excessive drug and alcohol use. In the Swedish magazine Groove, Lepard commented about his lifestyle:                                     "You live in chaos, depend on welfare, are an addict and things fucking suck
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