Stone Abdullah shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Stone, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
First, I’d like to thank you guys for inviting me again for an interview. It’s truly an honor. Now, over the past two years, I’ve lost the definition of “normal.” Haha, Multiple chronic illnesses have been actively sabotaging my life to the point I’m in the emergency room every two to four days for morphine and fluids. Therefore, an average day’s experience involves being grateful I woke up, but dreading the possibility of another random pancreatic inflammatory attack. That alone disrupts your thoughts, prompting you to dive into creative ideas that lead to impactful storytelling, which I’m constantly compelled to act on.
I take my six daily medications, set my timer for 30 minutes, then take the first dose of oral sucralfate. If all goes well after about 2 hours, I attempt to eat some solids. If not, I’m in debilitating pain, I call for an ambulance, and I spend up to 6 hours in the emergency room. However, on a “good day,” by the evening, I can sit down and write 100 words or so. Did I mention I can no longer drink coffee? LOL, and everyone knows authorship and coffee are synonymous.
If I have enough energy, I’ll catch up on entertainment industry news from both companies and consumers to gain a holistic understanding of market dynamics and sentiment analysis. Perhaps I’ll post on socials about my creative philosophy within a program I call “Cancelled,” which I intentionally chose because I’m speaking with complete transparency—not to pander to any particular group or ideology.
And finally, I’d probably pass out from exhaustion! I’m being sincere! That’s what constant pain, dehydration, sleep deprivation, and some malnutrition will do to you day-to-day. Wouldn’t wish it upon anyone… Well, perhaps two people LOL
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My friends, I am Stone Abdullah, a long-time author of the sci-fi epic fantasy romance series “Journey of the Shadow,” which is currently undergoing an amazing rewrite. I’m the owner of Journey of the Shadow Online Enterprises, LLC, where we sell merchandise associated with our principal intellectual property, and also do small business advocacy work as part of the National Small Business Association’s council for economic development (lots of words!) In a former life, I was an active blues and then metal musician; then I found myself in research and academia, even doing RnD for the U.S. military. Nowadays, I’ve been stunted by several chronic illnesses, including severe peptic ulcer disease and pancreatitis, which have put me in the hospital over 30 times this year alone. Going for a record! LOL I’m kidding, the experience is quite miserable and has caused many complications, including my ability to write! That’s the worst. Currently working on my health (as you could imagine) and as mentioned, rewriting the first novel into “Journey of the Shadow: Genesis,” where the story will be more intense in terms of its world mechanics, the metaphysics, character depth, you name it. “Genesis” will be unabashedly complex with metaphysical jargon and filled with shameless, wholesome, mushy romance. And, if my health holds up, I’m excited for folks to dive into it once the manuscript is published. My website’s down, but you can follow my socials for all the goodies.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
This will sound funny to you and your readers, but it was two particular fictional ladies: First Lieutenant Arlette Sauveterre and Goddess Rosaria. Who are they, you ask? Some phenomenal female protagonists in “Journey of the Shadow,” of course. Understand, I’m typing this while listening to Savage Garden’s “I Want You,” so there may be a romantic flair to my elucidation. Honesty, right? But still, Arlette and Rosaria saw me before I saw myself by looking at the main protagonist, Commander Tsumisu. But how could that be? Tsumisu is an extension of myself in many dimensions, especially his appreciation of Van Halen. However, during the story’s early stages of conceptualization, Arlette and Rosaria were reading Tsumisu like an open book, which forced me to do some sincere introspection.
I grew up in the deep south, central Mississippi, to be precise. And summer evenings, at least back then, were pleasant and memorable. One evening, I lay upon my late mother’s 1976 Chevrolet Impala, watching the stars appear overhead as the Sun waved goodbye. As the Heaven’s shifted from orange to deep navy, inspiration struck. “You’re a hopeless romantic.” Wow. Who said that? Arlette? Correct. I searched for beauty in things, even in natural disasters. That following September, guess who I dreamt of? That’s right: Goddess Rosaria. She was resting on a bench in a park somewhere, serene, peaceful, then she stared me in the eye with those glistening rose-pink face lasers, as a crisp autumn wind blew.
That’s when I understood who I was: an observer, not necessarily a participant. More interested in building abstractions from anything in life to create something to thrive inside of me. Then, I started seeing more reflections of myself manifest: Goddesses Evelyn and Nikita, Princess Suzuka Devonia, Mercenary Tetyana, Captain Goshinfuda, the list goes on and on. What I’m intending to impart upon you all in this passage is that the deeper and more intentional your introspection, the more you’ll find a surprising degree of who you are in time. Also, you see how much “Journey of the Shadow” as an idea means to me 🙂
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I tried to take my life on July 11th, 2025, at 7:48 PM Eastern Daylight Time. Cut my wrists. You know why it didn’t work? One of my conditions, the severe peptic ulcer disease, makes it difficult to stay hydrated. That impacts your blood’s viscosity. So when I tried to bleed out, let’s say it didn’t quite work as intended– and that’s what ended up saving my life (outside of the brave paramedics that night, shout out to them <3)
Why share that? Well, if we’re to make headway in men’s health/mental health, it starts “at home,” right? All this pain and suffering accumulated over the years has taught me that honesty is worth it. Western society has indoctrinated us into modes of deception to “get ahead.” To “follow along if it means monetary gain.” We have phrases like “Fake it Until You Make It” and “Benefit of the Doubt.” Question: Why can’t we be sincere during our matriculation through school or work? Of what benefit is there in doubt when the root of all fears is uncertainty? Suffering forces you to be sincere, especially if you want to solve the problem. Suffering forces you to reduce as much uncertainty in your life as possible, because what’s causing the suffering causes enough uncertainty as is. See? The late David Lynch said suffering isn’t necessary (to make you a great artist), but it’s a component of life, and if you leverage it, find out how it can shape and mold what’s already there, you’ll see its benefits. For me? I won’t let a dollar stop me from speaking or acting honestly. Because you see how life is far bigger than monetary gain 🙂 And always has been.
And that knowledge alone is where you’ll find success.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
Smart people fail the moment they say that they’re “smart.”
During my matriculation through graduate school, one of my dissertation committee members said this to me: “Learning is a lifelong commitment. Science is the constant pursuit of knowledge, and during that pursuit, you’ll learn some new truths that defeat a previously widely accepted theory. And that’s the beauty of endless Learning.”
Also, to be “smart” is to serve some goal. Well, what is it? To parade it over people, or put it to work? And if you’re putting it to work, is it to assist people, or burden them? Is your intelligence a tool for removing capabilities or adding them? More importantly, are you teaching others? Otherwise, a “smart man” is no different than a donkey loaded with astrophysics textbooks HAHA! See? Knowledge is a tool to improve the human condition and, at its core, a teacher of humility.
Where did I learn the rest of this from? A wise man, I’m grateful, who was my father 🙂 Rest in peace, old man.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I don’t know. I try not to dwell on that. The mortality part, sure, I dwell on that often. Practically every day in my situation. But, we all know you can’t control how people perceive you, right? So I can only hope that my words and actions amounted to people recalling some good I put forth towards them while I was here, and perhaps used my literary works, or music, or what have you as a vessel towards that same effort.
Maybe, after I’m gone, someone will look at “Journey of the Shadow” and say, “Oh, this is just a blueprint of how we can communicate better with each other.” That’d be awesome. You’d be surprised how many problems can be solved if people had an honest conversation 🙂
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