This is a story of a historian turning his craft to the story about which he is most afraid: his own. This is a book about fighting the monsters of addiction, severe anxiety, depression, and crippling self-doubt. But more than this, it is about a fight against hope. And how the author fought for thirty years against hope. He fought that dreadful proposition that there might be something else out there that offered some kind of reprieve. He fought, and hoped against hope. And lost. This is a story about a crooked family tree, bent and twisted by suicide, alcoholism and abandonment. This is a story about carving out an early career in television, radio, and comedy and then walking away for a girl. This is the story of a decade spent in the hallowed halls of academia by day, and the gutter by night (and the terrifying things found in both places). This is a story about a string of girlfriends and almost girlfriends, about breaking up and being broken up. The narrator is not the the hero, nor is he the only author. For a couple to agree on anything can be hard enough, but especially so when the things upon which they must agree took place more than twenty years ago. And so throughout the story, when ex-girlfriends and his wife come into play, they have had the opportunity to write unfiltered and unedited footnotes about what they believe actually happened. It is his story, but it is theirs too. The monsters are real. They are addiction and chemicals and fear and angry ex-girlfriends. But the real monster is one much scarier... and the one the author still can't shake.

Monsters: Addiction, Hope, Ex-girlfriends, and Other Dangerous Things

Biographies & Memoirs

Van Voorhis, Daniel

Professionals & Academics

Virtue In The Wasteland Books

This is a story of a historian turning his craft to the story about which he is most afraid: his own. This is a book about fighting the monsters of addiction, severe anxiety, depression, and crippling self doubt. But more than this, it is about a fight against hope. And how the author fought for thirty years against hope. He fought that dreadful proposition that there might be something else out there that offered some kind of reprieve. He fought, and hoped against hope. 
 And lost. 
This is a story about a crooked family tree, bent and twisted by suicide,alcoholism and abandonment. This is a story about carving out an early career in television, radio and comedy and then walking away for a girl. This is the story of a decade spent in the hallowed halls of academia by day, and the gutter by night (and the terrifying things found in both places). 
This is a story about a string of girlfriends and almost girlfriends, about breaking up and being broken up. 
The narrator is not the hero, nor is he the only author. Throughout the story he has allowed the various characters (some of them friendly, and some of them not-so-friendly) to write unfiltered and unedited footnotes on what they believe actually happened. It is his story, but it is theirs too. 
The monsters are real. They are addiction and chemicals and fear and angry ex-girlfriends. But the real monster is one much scarier... and the one the author still can't shake.

Monsters: Addiction, Hope, Ex-Girlfriends, and Other Dangerous Things

Sexy: The Quest for Erotic Virtue in Perplexing Times

We’ve lost the art of being sexy. Sure, we’ve got plenty of casual sex, porn, and sexual freedom to go around, but none of that is sexy. That stuff lacks the joy of transcendence, flirtation, dancing, or genuine intimacy.
For some, the solution is louder moralizing and stricter, more legalistic thinking.
But what if we reframed the conversation altogether? Instead of focusing on taboos, boundaries, and rules of sexual engagement, what if we were to let unconditional love seduce people back to erotic virtue? What if we stopped asking how close we can get to the ethical boundaries and started asking, who do we truly want to be and, more important, who do we want to be toward those we love?
This book is, in part, the author’s attempt to convey erotic virtue to his son Augustine on the eve of the boy’s high school graduation. Augustine; the author’s wife, Stacie; and a few musicians, poets, and scholarly friends contribute brief reflections, inspiring rich dialogue across generations, between lovers, and within the culture of our perplexing times.
This isn’t just another book about religious mores or pop psychology. It’s a block party with friends and family at the intersection of spirituality and sexuality. Join us and discover why it’s not too late to bring sexy back.

Politics & Social Sciences

Mallinson, Jeff

Philosophy

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