Paul Linehan - Don't Put Your Pen Down

I survived myself. Now I'm learning how to live with myself.

For most of my life, I thought I was too angry, too intense, too late, and too far behind.
If that sounds familiar, you're exactly who this site's for.

I'm Paul Linehan. I'm 51.
Dad, husband, nurse, and a man rebuilding the second half of his life from wreckage I mostly caused.

This place's not about success hacks.
It's about telling the truth and refusing to put the pen down on your own story.

Start here:

Join The Climb

(My newsletter for men who feel stuck but not done.)

What this place is

This site's where I put the things men like us usually bury:

  • The anger that never fully leaves
  • The shame that keeps us quiet
  • The regret that wakes us up at 3 a.m.
  • The restarts that feel embarrassing to admit
  • The slow rebuild that no one sees

I'm not writing from the mountaintop.
I'm writing from halfway up, still catching my breath.

If this sounds like you, you're in the right place

You're a good man who's tired.

Tired of feeling behind.
Tired of feeling like you should be further along by now.
Tired of carrying everything alone because you don't want to be a burden.

Maybe you've:

  • — Blown up a relationship or a marriage
  • — Let anger run the show
  • — Lived in survival mode for way too long
  • — Tried to change and slid right back into old habits
  • — Quietly wondered if you wasted your best years

If you've ever thought, "It might just be too late for me,"
this is your proof that it's not.

What we talk about here

I write about:

  • The stuff men never admit out loud
  • The pressure to be strong when you feel weak
  • Anger as grief wearing armor
  • Addiction, avoidance, and starting over at 40 plus
  • How I learned to change without burning my whole life down
  • How to build systems that match the man you want to be
  • How (and maybe even why) to forgive the earlier versions of yourself

None of this's theory.
It all comes from my own screwups, collapses, and rebuilds.

What I can promise you

I won't preach.
I won't pretend I have everything figured out.
I won't give you some 12-step formula that magically fixes your life.

Here's what I will do:

  • I'll tell the truth about my own story
  • I'll name the things most men only feel in private
  • I'll treat your pain with respect, not pity
  • I'll remind you, over and over, that you're not done yet

The core belief running through everything here's simple:

You're not broken. You're unfinished.

One last thing before you go

You don't need a perfect past.
You don't need a flawless plan.

You just need the guts to pick the pen back up and write the next page on purpose.

Join The Climb

So you're not doing it alone.