J. M. VanZile

J. M. VanZile has always been more interested in understanding why people behave the way they do than in deciding whether they fit someone else's definition of normal.

Working in mental health has deepened that curiosity, but his interest is personal as well. Diagnosed with autism in adulthood, VanZile knows what it means to revisit a lifetime of experiences with a new understanding of how his own mind works. That perspective shapes his interest in neurodiversity, coping mechanisms, identity, and the often considerable distance between outward behavior and internal experience.

In When the Mind Goes Small, he explores the psychology of age regression, emotional regulation, and the complicated ways people seek comfort and safety. Rather than reduce human experiences to convenient labels or easy explanations, he encourages readers to look beyond assumptions and consider what might be happening beneath the surface.

VanZile lives in upstate New York, where he works in mental health, plays guitar, and composes music. He has a fondness for dark humor, an unfortunate tendency to overthink just about everything, and a fascination with the human mind that has yet to produce anything resembling a shortage of questions.