Author: Overcoming Adversity | Buteau’s Odyssey

Many people seem to move through life with a clear, singular trajectory. They have one career, which is often a big part of their identity. But many of us don’t. We are pulled in multiple directions, drawn to different fields, ideas, and ways of living. We start things. Pivot. Reimagine. Expand. And from the outside, this can look like a lack of focus. But what if it’s something else entirely? Struggling to commit to one path isn’t necessarily a failure of discipline. It might reflect a cognitive style rooted in flexibility, integration, and creative potential. The Mislabeling of Creative Breadth…

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A brief note to readers: This piece centers on the experiences of parents who are estranged from their adult children. If you have estranged yourself from your parents or other family members, you’re not being asked to question your own experiences, boundaries, or decisions. Acknowledging one perspective does not invalidate another. Being Left Behind Family estrangement is often discussed as a necessary act of self-protection by adult children who choose to cut ties with their families. And, in many cases, it is. What is less often examined is how estrangement is experienced by the adult child’s parents. Not only do…

George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead is one of my all-time favorite zombie movies. A film that’s taken time to find its audience, it seems to get more appreciation with each passing year, and Scream Factory dropped the news last year that had fans rabid with excitement: they located the original film elements from the film and have been working on a brand-new 4K UHD restoration. Today, their release has been officially announced: a limited-edition 4-disc 4K UHD set will drop on June 16th, and we have all the details: “Forty years after it first terrorized audiences, George A.…

I sat with a group of middle school moms who chatted about their kids. Superlatives only. No bloopers allowed. “Science is too simple for Mark,” one said. “I squeezed in a tutor.” Another jumped in. “Bobby’s robotics group won. He plans on going to MIT.” It wasn’t just a conversation. It was positioning. Everything on message. As if childhood were a publicity campaign, not a process. “What’s Marty up to?” another asked me. I hesitated. My son has celiac, Lyme, long COVID, and chronic fatigue. None of it presents well. The night before, he was too tired to do his…

Examining the long-lasting impact of Faces of Death,  the “forbidden” video store staple that shaped (and traumatized) an entire generationSome movies have a powerful reputation even though only a relatively small pool of the general filmgoing public have ever seen them. Then, there’s Faces of Death.For example, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1973 is STILL regarded as the cinematic bloodbath to end all cinematic bloodbaths to this very day, despite the fact it’s close to being a totally gore-less motion picture. And just hearing the words Pink Flamingos conjures up XXX-rated obscenities beyond comprehension to just about everybody EXCEPT the…

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In many classrooms, some students pass through the day quietly and without drawing attention. Their presence feels easy to manage, especially in environments where teachers balance instruction, behavior, and diverse learning needs. Still, experience has taught me that silence deserves attention, and I have learned to pause when a student seems present in body yet distant in every other way. During my professional work in Bogotá, I began to notice a student who stayed in my thoughts long after the school day ended. Juan Manuel, known as Juanma, did not ask for attention, yet his presence revealed itself through small,…

NEW GENRE-BENDING HORROR GRAPHIC NOVEL ‘CHAPLAIN’ DUE OUT JULY 7, 2026 FROM STORM KING COMICS: “In the halls of a hospital, a chaplain and his intern struggle to keep their sanity as an ancient unknowable presence infects everything with a plague of unrelenting horror. CHAPLAIN is a surreal and terrifying debut graphic novel co-written by creators Brad and Rev. Wesley Sun, illustrated by acclaimed artist Raúlo Cáceres, colored by Ryan Winn and lettered by Marshall Dillon. It is available July 7, 2026 from Storm King Comics. An aging and increasingly weary chaplain discovers an ancient, unknowable monster stalking his hospital, forcing him…

Co-authored by Asia Eaton, Ph.D., and Andrea Powell Sex trafficking is one of the most severe violations of human rights, yet it remains widely misunderstood. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2000) defines sex trafficking as the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person into commercial sex acts. Yet, despite this clear definition, misapplications and misconceptions persist. For example, survivors are routinely criminalized instead of protected. Meanwhile, public awareness campaigns about trafficking often portray images of strangers in unmarked vans, but the reality is far more ordinary and pervasive. Trafficking occurs in foster homes, on social media platforms,…