May 30, 2022 by Janet Siroto · Friends

When a Friend Dies: Dealing with Shocking Loss

One of the harsh truths of this life stage is losing members of our “chosen family” way before expected. The pandemic accelerated the hurt.

One of my favorite things in the world is laughing and reminiscing with my best friends—“Remember that time we….?” and “What year was that when we…?” Stories flow. Maybe about wearing teeny Betsey Johnson dresses we thought were proper office attire way back when. Or the inexplicable silver Dead Swan Pitcher one of us received as a wedding gift. Or lurching sleep-deprived through our colicky babies’ infancies. Or surviving disastrous vacation rentals where rodents scurried through the walls.

Yet in recent years, I have fewer friends to reminisce with. This midlife era has brought a nasty volley of hard losses as my pals have started to vanish from this earth. And I’ve felt wholly unprepared.

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