Listen to the Notes On the Spectrum podcast on this chapter: Reasoning With Cats
Sleep disturbance is a recognized hallmark associated with addictive substance use.
Insufficient sleep also determines relapse rates in numerous addiction disorders, associated with reward cravings that are unmetered, lacking control from the rational head office of the brain’s prefrontal cortex.
– Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker, PhD. (random page opening this morning as I was waiting for a friend to respond about having breakfast)
The cats enjoy having me around. Their personalities are still developing as they recently passed into their second year of life on this planet. My copilots are often nearby. Often doing their own thing. Often giving voice to complaints, prayers of their own, and rambunctious curiosity that still breaks something on a weekly basis.
My two children are not unlike Sid and Hunter, the cats. They have their own agenda. My daughter is orbiting her mom, her consumer-driven lifestyle of brand and TikTok scrolling. My son is falling asleep in the most odd positions and inconvenient locations around the house and the city. His behavior is concerning.
Poking the bear is ill-advised.
My ex-wife’s response when I mentioned he is exhibiting signs of drug use and ecommerce, “He is lucky to have you as his father rn.” And in five or so days, nothing else. She’s escaping into her own world of milaise. Probably talking and taking my daughter down some dysfunctional and irrational rationalizations. I mean, they’ve got to do something to mediate their Thanksgiving in DC without the chupacabra.
My son is wonderleaping all over the place, at all times of the night. From a neighbor a week ago.
Yeah, no, we’re not doing great. He is harmless. I think he’s harmless. Why all the ammo?
He’s having a lark doing whatever the fuck he wants at all hours of the day and night. When his system encounters the blue screen of death, he simply slumps down into a coma. He’s like a young baby; nothing disturbs the sleep of the young or the dead.
Wow, that was too dark even for me.
I am afraid for him. I am resigned to my own path, my own relationship with god. He’s got to find his own higher power, his own creative spirit. That is the only uplift from his current destructive streak. Guns kill. Guitars play, but only if you pick them up, spend time with them, and your own creative soul.
Many of us humans avoid deep conversations with ourselves. We bury our emotions in alcohol, shopping, reality television, and social media doomscrolling. This is not the way.
What a lucky man I am. Reclaiming some of the parenting time stripped away by my ex-wife’s own avoidance panic. She’s in the same mode now. Perhaps that is her native setting: afraid. I know my son has this disorder in spades. Anxiety, depression, sleep issues, and lack of direction.
Between Two Points – David Gilmour, Romany Gilmour. (the soundtrack of this chapter by Pink Floyd front man and his daughter)
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For New Hyperfiction Readers:
Here is Claude.ai’s summary of this chapter.
This appears to be a personal journal entry or memoir chapter rather than a traditional book chapter. Here’s a summary:
Main Theme: A father’s worry about his teenage son’s concerning behavior, particularly signs of substance use and erratic sleep patterns, set against the backdrop of a fractured family post-divorce.
Key Points:
The chapter opens with a quote from Matthew Walker’s “Why We Sleep” about sleep disturbance and addiction, which frames the father’s concerns about his son’s behavior.
The narrator draws parallels between his two cats (Sid and Hunter) and his two children – both have their own agendas and are developing their own personalities. His daughter is absorbed in consumer culture and social media, while his son exhibits more alarming behavior: falling asleep in odd places, showing possible signs of drug use, and wandering at night (described as “wonderleaping”).
The father’s ex-wife is largely absent and avoidant, offering only a brief acknowledgment of his concerns before going silent. She and their daughter are spending Thanksgiving in DC.
The narrator expresses deep fear for his son but recognizes that recovery must come from within – the son needs to find “his own higher power, his own creative spirit.” He contrasts destructive outlets (guns, substances) with creative ones (guitars, music).
The chapter ends with reflection on how people avoid confronting their emotions through various distractions, and the narrator’s gratitude for regaining parenting time, while recognizing his son struggles with anxiety, depression, sleep issues, and lack of direction.
Tone: Raw, concerned, somewhat dark but hopeful, written in a stream-of-consciousness style.
Here is Perplexity.ai’s summary of this chapter:
This chapter from On the Spec by John Oakley McElhenney, composed in his literary form “hyperfiction,” presents a deeply personal reflection on family, addiction, and creativity using the metaphor of reasoning with cats as an entry point.
Core Narrative and Structure
The text intertwines memoir with nonlinear narrative techniques characteristic of “hyperfiction,” juxtaposing the developing personalities of the author’s cats with his concerns over his two children, especially his teenage son’s troubling behavior, possible substance use, and erratic sleep patterns. The chapter moves fluidly from anecdotal fragments to text exchanges and internal commentary, mirroring experimental digital storytelling forms.
Themes and Motifs
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Parental anxiety is a central theme, especially a father’s fear for his son, whose actions and mental state reflect addiction, depression, and lack of direction.
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Family dysfunction is highlighted through brief communications and silences with his ex-wife, and his daughter’s immersion in social media and consumer culture.
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The analogy between cats and children emphasizes individual agendas and developmental journeys in a fragmented household.
Hyperfiction Elements
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The narrative unfolds through nonlinear associations and multimedia-like references (including music by David Gilmour), echoing hyperfiction’s branching, nontraditional structure.
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The story is layered with AI-generated and human-written summaries, as well as meta-tags and prompts to other sections or reflections, inviting readers to navigate concepts of recovery, avoidance, and creative renewal in a digital, interconnected form.
Emotional Tone
The chapter employs a raw, stream-of-consciousness style that oscillates between darkness and hope, candidly portraying the search for peace, clarity, and a higher power amid chaos.
Here is Gemini’s summary of this chapter and themes:
This chapter, “Reasoning With Cats” by John McElhenney, is a personal essay that uses the author’s relationship with his two cats as a starting point to reflect on his much more troubled relationship with his two children, particularly his son, and the struggles of dealing with family dysfunction and mental health issues.
The central themes are parental anxiety, substance use/addiction, and emotional avoidance.
🐈 The Cats as an Analogy
The author introduces his two cats, Sid and Hunter, noting they enjoy having him around and are still developing their personalities, often being nearby, doing their own thing, and causing “rambunctious curiosity that still breaks something on a weekly basis”1. He immediately draws a comparison between the cats and his two children, stating his children “are not unlike Sid and Hunter, the cats” in that they “have their own agenda”2.
👨👦 Concern for His Son
The narrative quickly shifts to the author’s serious concern over his son’s behavior, which he links to potential addiction and sleep disturbance3.
Behavioral Red Flags: His son is “falling asleep in the most odd positions and inconvenient locations” 4and is “wonderleaping all over the place, at all times of the night”5.
Wandering/Snooping: The author includes a text exchange with a neighbor who saw a guy in a hoodie with a backpack “snooping around your backyard and then run off” late in the morning6666. The author confirms the neighbor saw his son, describing him as “harmless” but expressing frustration that he’s “having a lark doing whatever the fuck he wants at all hours of the day and night”7.
The “Coma” Sleep: The author describes his son’s abrupt sleep as the “blue screen of death,” where he “simply slumps down into a coma,” comparing him to a “young baby” or the dead8.
Mental Health Issues: The author believes his son has a disorder “in spades,” citing Anxiety, depression, sleep issues, and lack of direction9.
💔 Family Conflict and Avoidance
The author discusses the dysfunctional relationship with his ex-wife and how both parents are dealing with avoidance.
Ex-Wife’s Response: When he mentioned his son exhibiting signs of drug use, his ex-wife’s only response was, “He is lucky to have you as his father rn” 10, followed by silence, suggesting she is “escaping into her own world of milaise”11.
Daughter’s Behavior: His daughter is described as “orbiting her mom,” engaged in a “consumer-driven lifestyle of brand and Tik Tok scrolling”12.
General Avoidance: The author connects his personal struggles to a broader human tendency to “avoid deep conversations with ourselves” by burying emotions in “alcohol, shopping, reality television, and social media doomscrolling”13. He notes that avoidance might be his ex-wife’s “native setting: afraid”14.
🙏 Finding a Higher Power
The author concludes by expressing resignation and focusing on his own spiritual path. He states that he is “afraid for him” (his son) but that his son “has got to find his own higher power, his own creative spirit”15. He contrasts destructive behavior (“Guns kill”) with constructive engagement (“Guitars play, but only if you pick them up, spend time with them, and your own creative soul”)16. The chapter ends with tags related to seeking peace and mental clarity through silence and music17.
