The Most Important Step

Rejoining the Outside World After My Time in Inpatient Treatment

Photo by Noémi Macavei-Katócz on Unsplash

As I left, the sky opened and the sun-warmed rain mingled on my cheeks with my own tears of joy. Distant thunder rumbled as I pushed my cart of belongings along the trail to the parking lot. I hadn’t been able to say goodbye to my fellow patients — a COVID-19 case at the facility meant that we had been confined to…