Think Like CJ

Writing Without Lines

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About My Blog

I’m CJ. I write about discipline, endurance, grief, and becoming who you are through repetition, not perfection.

Category: Memoir

  • Forged Through the Miles

    I woke up mid-hurl. “Ghhk—hurrrk—bleeehh.” My head dangled off the edge of the bed as acid and remnants of dinner splattered the floor. I didn’t even wake up at first. My body purged while I was still unconscious, limp, drunk, helpless. At some point, I found myself slouched in a kitchen chair, hunched over the…

  • Five Seconds

    This piece is nearly a decade old. I wrote it during one of the hardest emotional seasons of my life. I’m sharing it now, not because the pain still feels fresh, but because the lessons still matter. Lightning, heartbreak, fear, and growth, they all strike, but they also pass. This is what it felt like…

  • Depression to the Bone

    This is a longer piece. I wrote it after my mom asked me why so much of my poetry circles around depression. I didn’t know how to answer right away — so I wrote my way through it. This isn’t a cry for help. This is just my voice, speaking honestly. Not too long ago,…

  • The First Leg of the Race

    With Ironman Muncie just days away, I wanted to share the piece I wrote earlier this year about how this journey started for me. It’s about more than just a race — it’s about recovery, perseverance, and finally learning how to breathe again. I’m not usually someone who jumps into relationships. But after the sudden,…

  • Escape Room

    “What are you doing here, Mom?” I asked as I entered Mr. Reynolds’s office, confused by her presence, her expression drained.“I’m leaving your dad. We’ve got to go.” And off we went, out of Wilson Middle School, straight into her black Bonneville, speeding out of the parking lot and toward our 23rd Street home, where…

  • The Last Drive

    There’s no easy way to explain how or why I stopped drinking. I’ve been asked before, and I still don’t have a clean answer. What I do have is a memory—a moment that split my life into “before” and “after.” This is part of that. I don’t drink and drive anymore.I don’t drink. One of…

  • Part I: Eight Years Old

    This is an excerpt from my memoir-in-progress. I’m sharing it here to offer a glimpse into one night from my childhood that changed everything. Thank you for reading. (Trigger warning: domestic violence) The road ahead of us was a strip of darkness, narrowing to nothing as we barreled down the center lane. Mom’s hand tightened…