Robert Julius

Robert Julius is a queer writer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His debut chapbook, Death Salon, is out now from Seven Kitchens Press. His work appears in Brevitycream city reviewThe Florida ReviewThe Rumpus, and elsewhere. You can follow him on Twitter @schumaker93.

GRIEF IS AN EMPTY SHELL by Robert Julius

When I left for California in the summer of 2013, I knew what I was leaving behind. I was abandoning a home that had grown toxic over the years, from my mother’s addiction and the ensuing fights between her and my father. I was leaving behind the rural countryside of western Pennsylvania. I was leaving behind two best friends, two brothers, two parents, and a sister who had been in and out of prison for the last five years. I was also leaving behind an old me, and all my old pastimes, including my terrarium of land hermit crabs that…

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