"There must be some way outta here, said the joker to the thief."

"There must be some way outta here,
Said the joker to the thief."

      All Along the Watchtower
     Bob Dylan

With the above quotation running through my head, I began writing the novel, Mental Hygiene two and a half years ago. It became the theme of the book.  Welcome to Write Running, my blog away from story lines  Future posts will include excerpts from Mental Hygiene as well as poems and ruminations.

Mental Hygiene is the first novel in a trilogy, the coming of age tale of Michael Murphy. Murphy, an intelligent, manipulative, and self-centered twenty year old caught in the draft at the height of the Vietnam War and stationed at the Mental Hygiene Clinic, Fort Jackson, SC as a Psychological Social Work Tech, becomes caught in the web of mental health, military-style. Against a backdrop of eccentric co-workers and unforgettable patients, Murphy navigates his way through a world he'd never considered.

The historical events of 1967-68; assassinations, race riots, and the emergence of the anti-war movement in the military, all play a supporting role in Murphy's story, all defining the sad truth that nobody gets away unscathed.