I'm quite old and have been through much and processed much. All that means is my perspective may be different than one younger and still in the crossfire of youth. I was fortunate enough not to be traumatized as a child by my two decent parents, such was not the case with many of my friends in the years I went full Kerouac (and Bukowski, Kesey, etc.) Most of those 'souls' are long dead now by self-inflicted wounds. I remember Steve who froze to death in The Ottawa Valley​ hitch-hiking; at times I would visit him in his rooming house and he had the most macabre art work on his walls from the blood​ from shooting up......
On a positive note, ​an old friend from those days dropped into​ Vancouver recently...He's one that is alive and doing well...As I hope y'all are, too:)