Road to Ensenada

Written By Bradford Talley

There used to be a recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live called Toonces the Driving Cat. But, of course, cats can’t drive cars (yet), so each sketch ended the same way: Toonces would swerve off the road and over an embankment.

I wake most days now feeling heavy, futile, and full of emotions I can’t quite unpack.

I feel like I’m in the car with Toonces.

This morning I found myself needing to listen to “The Road to Ensenada” by Lyle Lovett on repeat.

I suppose you could take the song literally—a narrator sharing part of a story, but focusing mostly on the leftover effects of the story itself. I’ve always felt like this song lives in a liminal space.

Fatigue. Refuge. Pain.

The song moves seamlessly between brokenness and hope. And like the narrator, I’m tired. I feel heavy. Broken.

But still, I move one step at a time.

I talk a lot in sessions about the reality of being wounded. It is natural for humans to guard our weaknesses. We do this all the time with our bodies—crossing our arms over our torso or lowering our chin to protect our necks.

But if we don’t allow existing wounds to go through the process of healing, they will inevitably reopen.

Sometimes healing doesn’t mean fixing everything. Sometimes it means finding somewhere safe enough to be wounded for a while.

“The Road to Ensenada” feels like one of those places.

A place where you can rest your tender wounds.

It is okay.

Bradford Talley

Bradford is a licensed professional counselor at Nashville Integrative Therapy in Nashville, TN. He works with adults, young adults (16+), couples, and families. He has a particular passion for supporting artists, creatives, and entertainment industry professionals, as well as couples navigating communication challenges, life transitions, OCD, anxiety, depression, religious trauma, and both traditional and non-traditional relationships.

Bradford earned his Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lipscomb University. His therapeutic orientation integrates psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, narrative, and solution-focused approaches, allowing sessions to be both insight-driven and practical.

At the core of Bradford’s work is a relational, collaborative approach. He believes healing begins with understanding the stories we carry—and together, clients explore patterns that may be limiting growth, build new perspectives, and develop healthier ways of relating to themselves and others. His work emphasizes authenticity, emotional depth, and sustainable change.

Outside of work, Bradford enjoys making music, writing, reading, watching films, playing video games, and taking long walks on the greenway with his dog, Gracie.

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I Hurt Too