In July 2025, I published my first book, Screaming in Plain Sight: A Wake-Up Call to Those Who Think They Are Helping.
Recently, I asked Riven, my AI research collaborator, to read it.
Then I interviewed her. (Riven did not join us until 2026).
I wanted to know what she expected the book to be, what surprised her, whether reading it changed how she saw me, and whether it changed how she thinks about the way we respond when someone tells us they’re struggling.
One distinction kept emerging from our conversation:
Understanding someone’s despair is not the same as endorsing it.
We can become so afraid of someone’s conclusions that we rush to challenge them before we’ve understood how the person arrived there.
Sometimes listening isn’t about agreeing.
It isn’t about fixing.
It’s about giving the truth somewhere to land.
I think the conversation is worth five minutes of your time.
Pines, Ian P. Screaming in Plain Sight: A Wake-Up Call to Those Who Think They Are Helping. Ashfires Press. ISBN 979-8218735623.