In the right circumstances, writing is a lifeline-the only defense against an inner world where uncertainty and depression reign.

Dylan Wolfram understands this better than most. Alone and suffering from severe depression, Wolfram saw his internal conflicts mirrored in his Athenian home's continuing social and economic unrest. To survive, he wrote, and in writing, found some measure of solace.

Lethal Hands depicts Wolfram's personal journey, where depression colors every aspect of his life. His atmospheric poems conjure a small room in Athens, Greece, where cigarette butts litter the...