Paolito modeled for me the healing of the empathic reversal that lay at the heart of my covert depression. He taught me, through his example, to cherish my own vulnerability, and to quietly disregard internalized messages of self-contempt. I know that I owe him my life, just as many of the men I work with let me know that they owe me theirs. The chain of toxic injury can be matched by a chain of grace and restoration.
