A native of Malden, a Boston suburb, Mark grew and spent his early years as a proud Bay Stater. Twenty-five years ago, he accepted an invitation to visit friends in Dallas, Texas. This was supposed to be a two-week visit. All the friends have moved to other cities, he remains in the Big D! Dallas has been a fertile place for Mark, and he formed new friendships and enjoyed wonderful professional opportunities. For twenty-four years, Mark has been on the faculty of the Dallas Independent School District. These years have given him the joy of spending time with young people, and opportunities to bring his love of history to a new generation. A believer that what Hanna Arendt would call “the life of the mind” is the richest gift we give the young, Mark continues to find inspiration and joy in teaching.
Mark has been published in The Dallas Morning News, The Boston Globe, and various professional publications. His classes have been featured on KERA, the local public television station. Diagnosed with MG in 2000, Mark has traveled a difficult road since then. He calls this his “Dark Night of the Soul” and has immersed himself in, and drawn strength from the writings of St. John of the Cross, Thomas Moore, and The Stoics. Mark learned that the MG journey is not made alone. Blessed with a wonderful and loving family, incredible friends, and the best healthcare professionals, it has been his desire to share experiences with a wider group and hopefully make their journey one filled more with light than darkness. It is Mark’s hope that his column will resonate with individuals diagnosed with MG, their caregivers, their families, as well as those desiring to know more about a little-known illness.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt once said of his fellow Irishmen, “I think there’s something about the Irish experience — that we had to have a sense of humor or die.” The tragic nature of Irish history certainly…
Read more
On March 4, 1933, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt told a fearful nation that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Roosevelt’s…
“I’d trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterday.” The soulfulness of Janis Joplin’s voice and poignancy of Kris Kristofferson’s lyrics in “Me and Bobby McGee” have always resonated with me. The despair and longing…
Visit the Myasthenia Gravis News forums to connect with others in the myasthenia gravis community.
Get regular updates to your inbox.
