David Duer: Jesse's Story

My beautiful boy and his brave struggle with bipolar disorder and addiction.

Jesse styling at the farmhouse near Lone Tree, Iowa.

By David Duer

My son Jesse is one of the sweetest and most generous men I know. His sparkling blue eyes under beautiful bushy eyebrows. His goofy gleeful chortle that erupts effortlessly. He’s an excellent musician, a badass bass player. He’s good with his hands and wonderfully creative. When he was in high school, he made his electric bass from a kit. An inventive chef, Jesse is able to concoct something delicious and original from any array of ingredients. But also, for much of his adult life, he’s struggled with bipolarism and depression and, as an at least partial consequence, alcoholism.

After high school, Jesse tried college at our request, but his mind never fit the mold that school demands. He returned home to Iowa City, Iowa, lived in a farmhouse near Lone Tree with friends, delivered pizza for The Wedge, and decided to become a chef. In the fall of 2006, he enrolled in a culinary school in New York City and found an apartment…