Ghostoke + A Grounding Meal
Searching for the one who can ease my pain and cure my insanity, I have come to realize that it is I who must gather the sand to smother the chastising embers before they cause my heart to plummet into a disastrous destruction.
- Summer ‘Snail’ Washko
This memoir grabs you from the first page, and doesn’t let go. It’s like a fever dream—a chaotic, raw, and brutally honest ride through the author’s teen and early adult life. If Charles Bukowski and Sylvia Plath had a baby who then ate acid and smoked spice, this memoir would be the wild, jagged result. The prose is as fierce and unrestrained as Bukowski's, with that raw, gritty edge that doesn't shy away from life's darkest corners—sex, drugs, pain, and the inevitable self-destruction. But it also carries a haunting, introspective quality akin to Plath, revealing the inner turmoil and emotional wreckage that fuels the chaos. The author doesn't hold back, detailing the harrowing spiral of addiction and the devastating effects it has on teens with a brutal honesty that stings like a bad trip. It’s as much a psychological unraveling as it is a physical one, with moments that are as beautiful as they are terrifying. This book captures the madness of youth, the lure of escape, and the inevitable crash, all served up in a feverish, acid-drenched love story that will stick with you long after the last page. It’s chaotic, it’s painful, and it’s damn real.
It’s a poetic love story like no other, unafraid to dive into the chaos, exploring how drugs and passion can twist and transform the heart. This book pulls you in with its raw energy and doesn’t let you go, even when the acid wears off.
Grab your own copy here:
Embers in the Sand
A grounding dish for reading through the chaos
This is a recipe for when the book leaves your hands shaking a little.
For when the madness is still buzzing in your teeth and you need something warm, real, and anchoring.
Nothing fancy. Nothing clean. Just honest food that holds you.
This dish is about smothering embers—heat softened by sweetness, sharp edges rounded into something survivable.
You’ll need
1 cup jasmine or basmati rice
1 ¾ cups water or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into rough chunks
1 small red onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cumin
A pinch of chili flakes
Salt, to taste
A drizzle of honey or maple syrup
A squeeze of lemon
Fresh herbs if you have them (cilantro or parsley)
How to make it
Start with the rice.
Rinse it until the water runs mostly clear. Bring it to a boil with the water or broth and a pinch of salt. Lower the heat, cover, and let it simmer quietly for around 20 minutes.Roast the chaos.
Toss the sweet potato, onion, and garlic with olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, chili flakes, and salt. Roast at 425°F until the edges are dark and caramelized and the insides are soft—about 25–30 minutes.Finish with softness.
While everything is still hot, drizzle the vegetables lightly with honey or maple syrup and squeeze lemon over the top.Assemble.
Spoon rice into a bowl. Pile the roasted vegetables on top. Finish with butter melting slowly into the grains and a scatter of fresh herbs.
How to eat it
Eat this slowly.
Between chapters.
With your feet on the floor.
This is food for coming back into your body after reading about losing it.
Food for grounding after a bad trip you didn’t take—but felt anyway.