A: My soul wrote a little of this book every single day for the ten years following her death. But you can’t write about things on paper right away. You need time and distance so all the parts can settle and sort themselves out.
My grief at the loss of Denise exhibited itself in odd ways over the years. Sometimes, I’d hear a Jerry Jeff Walker song and, forget it. The rest of the day was spent on the couch with a 5-pound bag of Peanut M&Ms. Once, I couldn’t find the coffee pot for days and then discovered it in the back of the refrigerator. Another time, I pulled over to the side of the road because I couldn’t remember why I was driving or where I was headed.
A year after Denise’s death, the tragedy at Columbine happened. I was paralyzed by the surrealness of the scene: kids jumping from windows, policemen running alongside the kids, the fact that it was a few miles from my house. Watching those kids run from a school building, terror in their bodies, their hands above their heads, it opened up something in me that allowed me to sit down with the notion: I want to tell you a story about an extraordinary friendship.
I can’t explain why the two events—Columbine and Denise’s death—converged for me. Sometimes a catalyst is just that. It’s a catalyst and you act.
My grief at the loss of Denise exhibited itself in odd ways over the years. Sometimes, I’d hear a Jerry Jeff Walker song and, forget it. The rest of the day was spent on the couch with a 5-pound bag of Peanut M&Ms. Once, I couldn’t find the coffee pot for days and then discovered it in the back of the refrigerator. Another time, I pulled over to the side of the road because I couldn’t remember why I was driving or where I was headed.
A year after Denise’s death, the tragedy at Columbine happened. I was paralyzed by the surrealness of the scene: kids jumping from windows, policemen running alongside the kids, the fact that it was a few miles from my house. Watching those kids run from a school building, terror in their bodies, their hands above their heads, it opened up something in me that allowed me to sit down with the notion: I want to tell you a story about an extraordinary friendship.
I can’t explain why the two events—Columbine and Denise’s death—converged for me. Sometimes a catalyst is just that. It’s a catalyst and you act.