M.L. is a writer from the Washington, DC metro area. He’s the author of a number of novels. In his spare time he paints, dances, directs, acts, cooks and embroiders.
One of the first major cultural contrasts I was warned about as an American studying in Rome was the vastly…
When I moved to Italy for school in August 2022, I brought a three-month supply of testosterone, syringes and needles—the…
Publius Ovidius Naso, known today as Ovid, was a Roman poet of great acclaim and some infamy. His works remain…
Pliny the Elder, a Roman statesman and writer, lived during the 1st Century CE. He died, famously, during the eruption…
When I first arrived in Rome to attend university last summer, I was surprised by both the widespread cigarette smoking…
From the moment I began openly acknowledging my opioid use—often via self-deprecating jokes, at least to friends—people shamed me. This…
Drugs are not good or bad. They are simply morally neutral tools which can help or hurt, depending on context.…
Society tends to view banned drugs and their use in binary terms. People who disclose drug use are instantly assumed…
There exists a common misconception that if a person uses illicit drugs, all of their problems stem from their drug…
When I began using drugs, I didn’t have anyone I could safely go to for advice or help. Nobody in…