About two months ago I was playing in the pit orchestra for a small production of the musical Big Fish, an adaptation of the movie directed by Tim Burton which itself was based on the novel by Daniel Wallace, and if you know anything of the story you know that it is similar to the events in my life last year. I was familiar with the story when I took the gig, but I had no idea how emotionally painful an experience it would be.

Without even realizing it I had withdrawn internally into a sad and angry place all while keeping a cheerful and unaffected exterior facade. I felt empty. I had nothing to give to my family and friends, and I felt as if I was barely keeping my head above water. I had reached another emotional low point in my life, and upon realizing that I knew it was time to do some more self-work.

I dug into my self-help toolbox to see what I could use to work my way out of the darkness, and after observing the consistent thoughts that were circulating my mind, I knew it was time to revisit some inner child work.

Big Fish weaves a story around a father-son relationship…