True friends help us chart our course in the world, and in my case—with the earliest mixed signals of schizophrenia beginning to fuzz my ability to think clearly—Kenny was like a guide in a forest. If you are walking on a path thick with brambles and rocks, a path that abruptly twists and turns, it’s easy to get lost, or tired, or discouraged. You might be tempted to give up entirely. But if a kind and patient person comes along and takes your hand, saying, “I see you’re having a hard time—here, follow me, I’ll help you find your way,” the path becomes manageable, the journey less frightening.
