my careless contagion

I just finished reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a book I've been meaning to read for years. Why now? I guess because I have time, as I live alone.  There should be a trigger warning on this book; that's the first thing I think. I was triggered by the ending. I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. Just like the language the character uses, it was covered up but out in the open the whole time. Sometimes what someone doesn't say says more than what they do say.  Anyone who is a victim of childhood abuse will recognize themselves in the character Charlie. The whole book is Charlie writing letters to an anonymous "friend" who he does not even know. That's the entire book; that tells the whole story. His language is permeated with childhood trauma. Again, it's not always what he says; it's what he doesn't say.  So, what are the perks of being a wallflower? As far as I can see, the book only mentions one perk, and that...

*Generator, from the album of the same name (released in 1992) by Bad Religion, is one of my favorite Bad Religion songs. Of course, if you were to ask me what my favorite Bad Religion song was when I was in high school, I would have said, "Whichever one I'm listening to right now." Honest, sure, but a pointless answer.  If I'm going to talk about the most influential band in my life, then I have to find a starting point.  I was in an accident during my junior year of high school. While coming back from pheasant hunting with my brother, I slid off an icy road after applying my brakes. My brother Jon wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I was. My little Honda turned sideways and went off the road on the opposite side. If there had been an oncoming car, we would have been toast. Fortunately, we simply rolled onto our top in a ditch. I was suspended upside-down in my seat, flailing about (like a bat, Jon said) trying to "eject" myself. Once I found my se...