Friend Loss

Illustrated wide-format scene of a woman launching from a wooden platform on a rocky cliff, soaring over a lush green coastline and vivid blue ocean while wearing a teal jumpsuit, white helmet, and orange backpack.

No Easy Way Out: How to Quit Skydiving

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I spent decades chasing the freedom of freefall, and burying the friends who fell with me.

Retro 16-bit pixel art illustration of three small propeller planes flying across a bright blue sky in warm late-afternoon light. Two planes remain side by side in formation while a third pulls ahead and climbs toward the upper right, leaving a faint white trail behind. Bare winter trees line the bottom edge of the wide image, creating a quiet, nostalgic scene inspired by 1990s flight simulator video games.

I Accidentally Sent a GIF to My Dead Friend’s Sister

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He would have found it hilarious. That's the thing about losing someone who knew you that well.

Chronicles of a Former Crier

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We never know who we’ll be in grief. In mine, the disappearance of my go-to tears was a shock.

A Rabbi’s Reluctant Lesson in Grief

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I paid a painful price to become a better leader for my congregation.

10 Lessons I Learned from My Friend’s 9/11 Death

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My best friend vanished without a trace that day. But the mark she made on my life has been indelible.

In the Face of Death, We Laughed

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As AIDS ravaged my friend's body, levity carried us through the end.

How a Psychic Medium Broke Through My June Gloom

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An unexpected exchange reconnected me with my vivacious friend years after her death.

A Therapist Says Goodbye

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We are not ‘friends’ with those we treat. But many of our patients make a very deep and lasting impression on us.

‘Congratulate Kim on Her Work Anniversary’

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The upside of LinkedIn’s reminder about my dead friend.  

When the Grim Reaper Visited My High School

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Decades later, a favorite teacher’s death resonates still.

Sautéing My Way Through Grief

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When my best friend died in a car accident, I felt compelled to take up cooking. Here are three recipes that helped me through.

Dead in Real Life, Alive on Twitter

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How a post-mortem scrapbook project kept teaching me about my friend.

Ned and I

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I'm 36. One of my best friends is 84. I try to live in the moment, knowing our relationship might be a fleeting one.

A Physical Place to Mourn a Virtual Friendship

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My friend and I encountered each other over social media and business travel. So it was complicated when he died, but my daily routine didn't change.

The Writing Life

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My friend allowed me no excuses for unfinished work. When she died, I thought I’d never put pen to paper again.

The Eulogist

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Narrative practice has helped me navigate grief. Here's how it could help you, too.

Could Everybody Stop Trying to Pretty Up Death? It’s Not Working.

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Language that denies the mess of death also denies the grieving the chance to be messy.

Jeff Schmaltz newsroom

The Long Arc of My Mentor’s Impact

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Jeff Schmalz was my advocate in the newsroom — and the first openly gay man I knew. Even years after his death, his influence on my life takes on new forms.

The Art of the Public Deathbed

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With her powerful presence on social media, writer, musician and cult celebrity Amanda Palmer offers a poignant lesson on grieving in front of an audience.

5 Things to Do Before Visiting a Psychic Medium

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A session with a good medium may actually benefit the grief process. But before diving in, Claire Bidwell Smith encourages you to mindfully prepare yourself.

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