My Long Overdue Introduction

I’ve written more than 300 pieces over the past three years here, and somehow, I’ve never properly introduced myself.

That feels intentional.

Or maybe it feels like survival.

My name is Rick. I’m a native Michigander, a former journalist, and someone who once believed life would unfold in clean, predictable chapters. But it hasn’t.

I live with heart disease. I live with cancer. Those are not metaphors. They are medical realities that arrived without invitation — ICDs, ablations, cardioversions, hormone injections, lab work, operating rooms. The language of intervention has become part of my vocabulary.

But illness is not my identity. It is a condition of my life — not the definition of it.

I write because I refuse to shrink.

Three years ago, when diagnoses and loss began reshaping my world, I could have gone quiet. Instead, I chose to document it. Not as a victim. Not as an inspiration poster. But as a man trying to make sense of biology, love, culture, faith, and the fragile architecture of the human body.

You’ll find reflections here on:

• Health and survivorship
• The complexity of love and letting go
• Art, film, and music that move me
• Detroit — the city that raised me
• The small, sacred moments most people scroll past

I believe in science. I believe in data. I believe in questioning doctors when necessary. I believe Disney can be holy. I believe chocolate is a legitimate love language.

I don’t believe fate is a script with every line prewritten. But I do believe in ownership after the fact. Life hands us chapters. We decide how they read.

If you’re here because you’re navigating illness — I see you.

If you’re here because you’re trying to love someone through it — I see you too.

If you’re here because you want writing that doesn’t pretend everything is fine — welcome.

I am still here. Still writing through illness, love, and life has become less of a theme and more of a practice.

Now that you know who I am, we can keep going.

— Rick

PS… Thank you, Dani for your encouragement and support

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