Glad I wasn't the only one struggling to figure out what the true value or insight this kind of articles provide, other than supplying random anecdotes regardin

Glad I wasn't the only one struggling to figure out what the true value or insight this kind of articles provide, other than supplying random anecdotes regarding "paths of life". To put it another way, if the coin was flipped and Mr. Rod Dreher stayed at his small home town, a place where he was bullied and misunderstood, instead of leaving for journalism career in big cities, then today he could very well be giving an interview about how he lacked courage to pursue his dream and how he had been trapped in an unhappy life because of that. Then an article would be produced on the detriments of not fighting back against the constraints of relationships and backwards communities. We don't know. Would he be happy or unhappy if he stayed? The article (and all the 'academic' research mentioned) makes the answer to the question even more elusive.