4 Comments

Shaina, always so very amazed by the unfettered talent that you bring to these episodes. Mr. King should be thrilled and honored! And I always feel like I have been served the heart and soul of the story. This time it's definitely a bitter meal from King that you serve in your breakdown of this story. It's such a tragedy of passive neglect and indifference that he doesn't realize he is drowning under! Even this description, although isolated from the story directly, raises a pain in my spirit and a tear to my eye...

Expand full comment

This honestly was a tough story to read. The regret and the sacrificed connections really hit home. I think many men can also relate to the feeling that they should have been with a relative or a girl when they had to push forward in their careers. There always seems to be an excuse to abandon people in the pursuit of success. This story reminded me of those in my own past who fell by the wayside either by failing to launch or dying early. You always wonder if you could have saved them. I’m sad to hear of your own personal story of loss. I tried to click the link but it was “private” so don’t know how to access it. There was a recent suicide of a friend’s relative and this was a timely piece that those who remain carry a heavy burden for life just as the character does with the newspaper clipping.

Expand full comment

But then you remind yourself of the people who HAVE been saved by your actions directly or indirectly. Those troubled souls who bared themselves to you when they couldn’t tell anyone else and who breathed a heavy sigh of relief when they realized you got them. I can count several individuals who might have done something terrible had I not been there at the right time with the right message. Or the ones who were helped indirectly because you solved someone else’s issue who would otherwise have made that person a personal punching bag. I thought I should have something more positive to say than my last comment.

Expand full comment

I am so sorry to hear about your friend. It's such a hard thing to go through and I wish no one had to. I updated that link so it should link to the story now. Sorry about that! I had a hard time with this story as well, and it's probably why I didn't have as much commentary. It was just so sad through and through, and I think most of us have lived through something that we can relate to.

Expand full comment