A Temporary Solution

My journey through the psych ward in a time of austerity.

Grace Byron is a writer from Indianapolis based in Queens. She used to make films. Her writing has appeared in the Baffler, LARB, Screen Slate, and Pitchfork among other outlets. She’s working on a novel about conversion therapy.

In the past two years I’ve been in the hospital four times. The first was for a pneumothorax at Woodhull. My lung entered a flop era and I am no longer allowed to smoke. I have never tasted an Elf Bar; their renaissance came too late. The next was to possibly say farewell to my dad when he was on a ventilator for Covid in Indiana. He survived after being in a two-month long coma. The third was shortly afterwards when I got facial feminization surgery at Lenox Hill. Thank God for Medicaid. My most recent visit was to the psych ward.