Happily Ever Almost

In case you missed it, Apex Digest is now online, and ready to be consumed by the masses.

My latest essay, “Almost Back” is up now. Jay Lake, Brian Keene, and Global Thermonuclear War in possibly the most personal essay I’ve ever written. What more could you ask for?

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Jay Lake had colon cancer this summer. I followed his entries on Live Journal the whole time. Everybody’s got a digital camera now, hospitals have internet access, and the miracle of YouTube made it possible for Jay to keep in touch with everyone. He reminded us how much he loves us, and gently warned the world that he was Almost Back.

I make no bones about the fact that I’ve led a fairly charmed life. Every day is an adventure, every petty person a character, every unfortunate event a story waiting to be told. Jay’s predicament stirred my old memories to the surface, things I had tied to cement blocks and tossed off the bridge a few years ago when I had my own cancer scare. A similar week in the hospital and the relieving revelation of a harmless congenital birth defect later, I had a new lease on life and a long recovery ahead.

But it wasn’t the worst thing that has ever happened to me.

Breaking up with my fiancé last fall was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Read the rest of the essay here.