Del From Hell

Everything Is Stories

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.

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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.

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