Del From Hell

Where do we go when we can’t make it in mainstream society? As someone who has often battled mental illness and rage, Del Hendrixson Jr. connects the dots between a violent mental breakdown and his struggle to find a sense of belonging as a child. In this episode, Del talks about a successful career in printing that would eventually turn criminal, hitting rock bottom, and fighting an insatiable urge to kill. Following a suicide attempt and a slow journey toward peace and acceptance of living outside the mainstream, life would eventually come full-circle to the place everything bottomed out - prison - where Del taught newly-released inmates creative skills in order to help them lead productive lives at his Bajito Onda Foundation. --- Produced by Mike Martinez, Tyler Wray, and Grace Heerman. Music by Mike Etten. Sound design by George Drake, Jr. For more about this story, including photos by Clarke Tolton, visit everythingisstories.com.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Created and produced by Mike Martinez and Tyler Wray, Everything is Stories is an ongoing survey of personal histories. Each episode is a first person narrative from someone who has lived through consequential changes to their notion of self and the world. Harry Crews said it best: “Nothing is allowed to die in a society of story telling people. It is all–the good and the bad–carted up and brought along from one generation to the next. And everything that is brought along is colored and shaped by those who bring it. These voices have told their greatest moments where peace is far and death is close. Sometimes these stories explore the philosophy of outsiders. But most importantly, these stories examine what it is to be human. We don’t record to defend or demonstrate an idea. Rather, we create a document of what was seen and felt during their transformative experiences. Take a listen. Start anywhere. You may find a new definition of reality’s highs and lows. Know of a story or storyteller? Send us your tales of genuine characters and unfamiliar places for consideration to: HQ@everythingisstories.com. No story too troubled, no atmosphere too strange, no realm too foreign.