Darion Cormier

Season One was about the things we carry.

Season Two, The Setting Down, begins with a different question: What happens when we try to put some of it down?

Before the first essay arrives, a short introduction to the familiar stories, plans we never threw out, routines we return to, and things we’re still learning to let go of.

Written and narrated by Darion Cormier.

Explore the season at darioncormier.com.

Some things get heavy so slowly that we stop noticing we’re carrying them.

Stone in My Pocket brings together the images and questions from Season One of The Carrying — the car in the driveway, the coat we never take off, the door we don’t open, the people who depend on us, and the field in winter.

A song about becoming so good at carrying things that nobody thinks to ask what they weigh.

Written and creatively directed by Darion Cormier. Music and vocals created with AI.

Listen, read the lyrics, and explore the song on my website.

Five episodes began with one voice. This time, the voices belong to the listeners.

After The Carrying brings together audience-submitted reflections on Season One — the moments that stayed with them, the connections they made, and the things they recognized in their own lives.

Their words. Their experiences. Their voices.

— Darion

A song that grew out of the bonus audio essay The Car in the Driveway, Part Two.

The essay returns to that quiet moment before going inside. The song takes that feeling somewhere more intimate—wanting a little more time with someone before the moment ends.

Not asking for forever. Not trying to stop time.

Just asking them to stay a little longer.

I wrote the words. The music and voice were created with AI.

Listen to the song and explore the writing behind it at darioncormier.com.

What happens after you finally admit that being constantly available is costing you more than you realized?

This audio essay returns to the space between responsibility and rest, exploring boundaries, emotional availability, solitude, and what it means to protect a little more of yourself.

What happens when you realize you have a habit of turning the things you love into things you have to carry?

This bonus audio essay explores birthdays, reflection, perfectionism, regret, starting over, and the pressure we place on ourselves to make our lives become something more.

Listen at darioncormier.com/work/september

Call Me For Nothing is the second song to grow out of What They Call You For.

The first asked who carries the person everyone else calls.

This one asks something different: what would it feel like if somebody called and didn’t need anything?

No favor. No emergency. Nothing to fix.

Just because.

I wrote the words. The music and voice were created with AI.

Listen to the song and explore the writing behind it at: https://www.darioncormier.com/work/call-me-for-nothing

What do you do when a season of your life feels quiet, empty, or uncertain—and nothing seems to be growing yet?

This audio essay explores rest, waiting, change, uncertainty, and the difference between something being finished and something simply being in a season of stillness.

Listen to more of the work at DarionCormier.com.

A song that came out of What They Call You For.

Read the lyrics and hear the essay that inspired it at darioncormier.com/who-carries-me

What happens when everybody knows you'll answer? This audio essay explores what it means to become the dependable person in other people's lives—and what happens when being useful starts to feel like your role.

A reflection on responsibility, emotional labor, boundaries, relationships, and the quiet exhaustion of always being the person people call.

Explore the rest of the work at darioncormier.com