Such terrible news to get today, and I was fortunate to hear it from friends who knew you as I did, having also experienced your humor, your heart, your generosity. The last year and a half, including your eleven months under medical care, were brutal on you. Still, you looked forward to a better life in the aptly named “Fairhope” with the old friend who invited you to move there. You told me your mother said she might move there, too, then you wanted to travel to England and Germany with her and maybe take a Rhine River cruise together. To know that your mother died nine days before you makes me imagine just the two of you again, as it was for much of your life, facing a future together against all odds. I hope you’re both at peace.
I regret that I’ll never get to read that novel you’ve been writing. You had such a gift of voice, pacing, and making everything turn out okay for the women you wrote. You’d have given Summer a happy conclusion, just as you once did for Emily–and you hoped to write a second Emily book one day, too.
I will imagine a happier-forever-after for you, where you save a place on that boat on the Rhine for your forever dog Dash to sit between you and your mother, with Kissing Michael on your other side. You belong with your love on your arm.
Bon voyage, Marika.
That was another of my many thoughts as well: I’ll never get to read the book she’s worked on.
She was so excited to be writing it. She said her mother loved what she read of it. I read a few bits of the earliest pages and of course I could tell it was going to be funny and sweet and sassy. I told her to wait and send it to me when she had a big chunk of it. I don’t know how far she got, but I know working on it got her through some rough times. We shared that perspective: that stories and characters and creating can get you through some bad stuff.
🙁
just
🙁
Yeah, it’s a tough one. She had a really awful time with her health the last year or so after a period of feeling like she was on top of things and making good changes.
Also, I am going to miss her participation here.
Me, too. When I look back to the early days of LiveJournal, and even later, when I linked to this blog from Facebook 🙄 and Twitter 🙄 🙄, the comment section was hopping, with lots of interaction not just with me, but everyone with everyone else. I still laugh so hard at some of that stuff. Good memories.
Rest in peace
I hope she is. I may have a few more answers about the month of November tomorrow.
Oh no. I am so sorry to read this.
Thank you. She’d had some health stuff going on for quite a while, but it was still a shock. I’m glad to see you back reading and commenting. I’ve missed you!
I’ve missed you too! Catching-up will be sporadic, but: Will. Try. Harder.
Delayed gratification is still gratification!