I was born in Washington state and lived in the deep woods to the age of 4.  By 6 months i was screaming myself purple to the point of passing out. my symptoms piled up over time but doctors refused to confirm any malady, choosing instead to call my mother a poor parent.  i was expelled from every school i ttended from 4th grade to high school for defiance of authority figures.  at the age of 10 i was tested with a litany of tests and sleep studies, which revealed a non-specific "glitch" in my brain functions. 

Skip ahead to the age of 27 and things quickly degraded. I began to isolate, losing my job my girlfriend and my apartment. I found myself living on the streets of seattle for a time, then in a tent, and finally in a storage unit, until i was locked in on thanksgiving and had to bang until the police came and let me out. 

I was awarded social security and moved into a homeless shelter until i began to have visions of the secrets of the universe and how they worked together. the messages seemed positive or at least possible, but i stopped eating drinking and sleeping and stayed cloistered in my room until they finally came with an ambulance.  I spent some time in an outpatient facility, seeing and hearing things the whole time, terrified.  I was sure I had died. 

Some time later, when I was deemed more stable, I visited Ireland to see family. I began to hear voices telling me to behave erratically, and was soon placed in an Irish asylum, where I was given drugs long since outlawed in America.  It is a miracle I was ever released, as most patients there never saw freedom.  I would be there now if not for the wiles of my now PhD Mother and some help from something somewhere.  I moved to Maine to be close to her, and have made a nice place to live and make art here.

I still have almost constant voice activity, but i have managed to release 12 original albums (www.andrewmura.com) and make my living space as comfortable as possible.  I have a cat and a bamboo plant to care for, and i walk through the town singing my songs, waving and smiling. after 5 years here the community has accepted me, or at least not censored me.  I dream of a house a car a wife and the ability to play concerts, but I am happy with what I have as well. I havent been on this site in 3 years, but the people who welcomed me here have drawn me back to share my success. 

My testimony is that in the eyes of suffering, a moments rest is a success. I'm very lucky to have lived to this day, and I will do everything I can to live as long as I can and in the healthiest way possible.  I was diagnosed with Diabetes a few weeks ago and the way I have treated my body its not really a surprise, just another opportunity to monior my behavior and keep me focused on my physical and mental health. writing helps me focus my web of internal entanglements into a clearer story of my life and my experience of it.  Even when I am not making music I write. It is validating to me that I have strengths that I know will carry me through any fire.  I am. I am not a ghost. I am not dead. And I will never let go.