I do appreciate the concern, but let’s not confuse realism with pessimism. If you’re uncomfortable with the notion that cancer, war, and arbitrary death are part of the human condition, I suggest you take it up with the universe’s customer service department. Spoiler: they don’t issue refunds.

I’m not here to sprinkle serotonin on a landfill. I write from a place where hope and horror coexist, where a man can undergo aggressive treatment and still question whether the dogma surrounding it is intelligent or just desperate protocol in a white coat.

“Take a happy pill,” you say — charming. That’s the kind of advice that sounds best cross-stitched onto a throw pillow in a psychiatric waiting room. But I prefer to confront life as it is, not as I wish it to be. If that makes me a "downer" in your pastel world of curated optimism, so be it.

Some of us find clarity in the dark. And sometimes, the truth is more therapeutic than a forced smile and a motivational poster.