100 Thoughts about Friend Grief

Today is my 100^th blog post.

When I started this blog in February, I had one goal: to put a spotlight on the experience of grieving the death of a friend. It appears I’m succeeding.

I already knew there were people out there who wanted to tell their stories, or rather, tell the story of a friend who meant the world to them.

It’s funny, when you become aware of something, suddenly the whole world is attuned to it. Things you never noticed before are now obvious. So it has been with friend grief. It seems everyone has a story to tell about a friend who died much too soon.

Strangers have bared their souls to me, pouring out their frustration and grief. Celebrities have teared up talking about friends who have died. Others have re-directed their lives, because of the influence of that friend.

I don’t know why I got the idea to write my book, which started this whole insane blog/Facebook/Twitter/Google+ journey. It was certainly borne of my friendship with Delle Chatman. My promise to her, before she died, is what has kept me going the past two years as I finally put pen to paper (or more often, fingers to keyboard).

Now I find what fuels me are the responses I receive when I tell people about my book, or they read a post on this blog.

I’ve made a lot of people cry, which was not deliberate.

I’ve given them permission to be angry, which a lot of people seemed to need.

And I like to think I’ve given them a place to come where they know someone understands. That’s what I’ll keep doing, as I start on my second 100 posts and finish my first book (first, because there will be a second and probably a third).

I thank all of you who’ve taken this journey so far, and hope you’ll continue to accompany me, as we celebrate the lives of friends who made a difference in our lives.