September is Austen’s birthday month.  He would have turned 27 on September 26.  In honor of his birthday, I have selected a few excerpts from his writings and looked through photo albums to pick out a few essence-of-Austen shots. From a sweet little boy to a handsome, complex young man, we celebrate his birth, his life, his curiosity, his spirit, the depth of his understanding, his resolve, his destiny, his words.  From his Journey Through Sobriety:

Austen’s first communion  in 1999 at Christ Church in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, age 8.

I remember happiness. I think I am close to attaining it again. Being me, pure, real, not anxious about something that may or may not happen. Even if something happens, I am resourceful enough to handle it. Everything will be okay, Austen. Trust yourself, trust your instincts, trust the universe to guide you. There’s a deeper level to this. I want to tap into it. Love and understanding. True feeling. Embracing life. Feelings, thoughts, emotions.  June 5, 2014

Last day at Maire Elementary in Grosse Pointe in 2002, age 10.

What do I want to be? Cool, wise, intelligent, creative, open, empathetic, spiritual, confident. Positive, sober, understanding and fresh as fuck. Hip hop aficionado, politically in tune, clever, funny, happy.  June 13, 2014  

Austen in his basement ‘mancave’ with his stacked Dr. Pepper cans, phone in hand and football game on TV, Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, 2004, age 13.

It’s so crazy how you walk through life bored and unimpressed, and then all of a sudden one day you see things for what they are and you can’t believe how beautiful everything is. You appreciate the sun and the clouds, the trees and the air they allow us to breathe. You realize that everything is actually connected in a real sense. I’d like to think you can never go back after coming to this conclusion, but that’s not true. That’s why you have to be in tune with who you are and the reality of existence. The universe has billions of galaxies. Here I am in just one of them, in just one solar system, on just one planet, revolving around just one star.   July 1, 2014 

Austen’s first Homecoming Dance at Grosse Pointe South High School, 2007, age 15.

The distance between who I am and who I want to be
lights the fire inside of me
I’m tired but inspired, lie awake wired
by who I aughta be
used to spend time worried
about what people might of thought of me

Brown eyes and soft replies
Loves the only real high
It’s pure it pulls me toward the sky
We’re fighting now no reason why
I miss you back when you were shy
October 24, 2014

Austen on graduation day at Indiana University, BA in Psychology, 2013, age 22. 

We rejoice in the moments we had with you Austen, all of them, from start to finish and the moments we continue to have with you through your strong, positive presence in our daily lives.

you are the space between the molecules
a love that has no end
a life without boundaries

‘No Boundaries,’ Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland taken by Suzanne Sahakian, Austen’s mother, while hiking the Pap of Glencoe in July 2018. © 2018 Suzanne Sahakian