On Writing: Love and Loss

My great friends Connie and Laura came with me to Providence in March to recruit students for work. We had an amazing time. Connie hadn't been doing well, and so it was like an escape.The first night we had lobster, the second night steak. Both nights we had steamers, [clams], which I introduced to Connie I few years back and she fell in love with. We laughed, made fun of each other, and the ladies shopped. Connie got halfway through Into the Middle Distance and told me "This is the one. This is the one that will get published..." She had a way of motivating me, and everyone.

Laura and I are back in Providence this week. Without Connie; she died right after we got back from our last trip up here. So, needless to say, it's been a tough visit, but we have great memories and our other friend Beth joined us and is a great help.

 Back in April, I wrote a story in the waiting room as Connie lay dying. It was another one of those that I wrote in one sitting; crying the whole time. After Connie's death, I submitted the story--again and again--not because I cared about it getting published, but because of Connie. It was rejected quite a bit.

The crazy thing? Just as I packed for the [sad] trip back to Providence, I received an email accepting the story in the Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine. I can't help but think Connie has something to do with this; we will toast her again this evening, of course, and I will post the link as soon as it's published...

Geoff