About me

Name / age

My name is Dirt. I am 48 years old

I have also gone by the names Matthew Temple and Inhaesio Zha

Where I've lived

I live in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania with my wife, her grandson, and our dog

I previously lived in Texas, Ohio, New York, Arizona, Oregon, California, Louisiana, Delaware, Tennesssee, and Vermont. I worked as a programmer. I went to film school. I have been homeless. I have stayed in mental hospitals. I have lived with my origin family as an adult

Substance abuse

I am an alcoholic. An addict. I wrote my first book drunk. I used to be so averse to living on this planet that I would take whatever I could just to help me forget I was here. Having come to a better understanding of my life, having accepted some of the truths about my life, I no longer want to escape it

Mental health

I have schizoaffective disorder as well as OCD and tardive dystonia. I use a walker due to my dystonia. I can't drive. My psych symptoms appeared by the 4th grade—when I became afraid to leave the house without chapstick

Writing

The 4th grade, that same year when my teacher encouraged us to journal. I took her assignments seriously. Even at that age, journaling started to unravel my life in the most beautiful way. Twenty six books later, writing fiction and memoir helps me continue the job

I love writing—love the act of doing it. It's personal. It's insanely creative. I started writing by hand. Today I use Emacs on a Linux box

Now

I still drink when I write—but these days it's chamomile tea scented with lavender

I practice tai chi daily

I also take pictures