Dear Alexandra,

You have positively floored me with your essay! There is so much of it I want to commend and praise, I fear my response might ramble (will aim for concision, though.) Though my traumas pale in comparison to yours (largely self-imposed, as a former functioning heroin addict, now clean since 2015) we absolutely share the same ethos in relation to pain. What you have articulated here resonates further and so much deeper by virtue of your being a woman, and while being an avid supporter of women’s issues, I have always been careful with my wielding of humor by virtue of being a man, albeit a gay one. You have highlighted what I identify as the problem with the post #MeToo era, which is the rawness of metaphorical nerve-endings to nuance, irony and humor, which, sadly, has occasioned a spinoff generation of over-sensitive “snowflakes” as they are termed; a fact which has rendered the wielding of humor problematic and susceptible of public lynchings depending on the speaker. Now, this legitimation of humor, in the shimmering, sparkling style you have rendered it in, could only come from a woman who has been through the vise of pain as you have. For your essay, and for your contribution to humanity (no exaggeration!) I thank, admire and salute you. You have a earned a new avid fan, and by the way — you writing dances off the page like Nijinsky with his ass on fire! Love, P.