In the Valley of Shit I’m deep in the valley of shit at the moment. It’s a pretty apt description of the low points in the PhD journey. There’s been a few things published lately on the prevalence of depression in graduate students, none of which I could bring myself to read because of how I am feeling. So much seems to happen at once. For me, it is a confluence of dealing with difficult family circumstances, which impact on my confidence as a parent, and my own confidence as a researcher following my mid-candidature review, and the fact that both of these impact the professional and personal realms. In the mix as well, are aging and infirm parents who live in remote outback Queensland, two and a half days drive from where I live. My young adult aspie son is suicidal. We have come so far with him since he was this anxious and depressed last time when he was 13, so to be back in the same space seems like some sort of parental failure. Intellectually I know