I just got vol5issue2 of
Ninth Letter. I have been looking forward to this issue for a while: friend
Mike Scalise has an essay in it called "The No T Experiment." The essay is about how a tumor in his head imploded when he was 25, messing up his testosterone levels. The essay is funny and sad. I laughed out loud several times as I read the essay, and then I also felt sad at other points.
Here is a sentence from the essay:
Surgeons sliced a hole in my upper gums, snuck in behind my eyes and plucked out my bleeding tumor, so now I sat with a bloated face, a swollen mouth full of stitches, and nostrils so stuffed with gauze that I could see them in my peripheral vision.
It's a pretty amazing story and is a good reason why you ought to purchase this issue.