Welcome to Weiss Journal

Elegant writing, street photography, and quiet reckonings

Writer. Book lover. Former police chief.

I write about life, its fleeting joys, its sorrows, and the quiet reckonings that ask who we are beneath the noise.

For twenty-six years I walked among the fragile and the forgotten. I saw what happens when the mask slips: the ache of loss, the wreckage of choices, the sudden mercy of a stranger’s hand.

Out of that came stories of grief, resilience, and grace. The kind that linger in the heart and remind us what it means to be human.

I write now from a gentler distance, shaped by books, memory, and the soft click of my rangefinder camera. My hope is that something in these pages might steady you, or stir a small light against the dark.

If you are drawn to essays written with conscience and quiet craft, then welcome to Weiss Journal. This site is a free publication. No paywalls—but donations appreciated.

— John P. Weiss