Friendships Are Hard

Friendships are hard.

All relationships are, honestly.

They take a lot of work. Sometimes it seems as though one person is putting in more of that work, more effort to see each other and make plans.

But that’s just life. It’s not easy. But it’s so, so worth the effort.

There was an entire chapter of my book that my editor suggested that I axe. It was about my friendships. Some that I’ve had over the years that haven’t survived, and most that I still have today.

My editor pointed out, however, that this specific chapter didn’t add value to the rest of my story.

Which doesn’t mean that they didn’t add value to my life. They most certainly did. Even the ones that I don’t have any more.

I appreciate the role that the friends I no longer have played in my life. Sadly, not all of those friendships ended well. I still think about those people sometimes.

I highly doubt that they think of me. But something inside of me thought that they deserved a place in the pages of my book.

At the end of the day, it was up to me whether to keep those stories or delete them. Just as it was to not include the stories from my childhood that show that growing up wasn’t all bad.

The choices were really hard, but I made them for myself, without concern for others and what anyone would think.

I believe that I made the right decisions. I am completely happy with the way that Letters to the Mountain turned out. Some people see things differently. They think that friendship is an integral part to any lifetime, and that perhaps the stories about private times shouldn’t be shared with everyone or aired as “dirty laundry”.

And that’s okay.

I don’t want to live my life asking permission.

I refuse to be ashamed of things that others can relate to, or that may add value to their lives.