(Callum)
The research lab should have been enough to distract me.
Normally, it was.
Research possessed a remarkable ability to consume every available piece of a person’s attention. There was always another report waiting to be reviewed, another email demanding a response, another deadline approaching faster than anyone expected, and enough administrative responsibilities to make even the most dedicated academic question every decision that had led them into higher education.
For years, work had been my solution to almost everything; for grief, stress, loneliness and regret.
If something hurt badly enough, I buried myself beneath enough responsibilities to stop thinking about it.
The method wasn’t healthy.
It was effective.
Unfortunately, it had stopped working.
I discovered that
