Grief and Friendship

Greetings from Ireland~

Hi, friends! I just arrived in Dublin, and have made my way down to the east coast beach town of Courttown, where my friends Sammy and Kylie Horner live. Sammy and I will conduct next week’s Mercyland In Ireland songwriter workshop in nearby Gorey.

As I’ve been in the formal editing stages of SUMMER OF GONE, my upcoming memoir of loss and grief, I realize that there are quite a few chapters that take place outside of America, in fact, one chapter takes place here at Sammy and Kylie’s place.

Another chapter takes place in Oslo with my friends from the band Humming People, and yet another takes place in Oslo and Stockholm with my daughters. Of course, Emmylou Harris and Her Red Dirt Boys figure into the story, too, as we traverse much of the US with the eternally pouting John Mellencamp.

Just as a painter will step back from the canvas to see what’s being rendered, an author can step back from the written word and see meaning that wasn’t consciously intended.

SUMMER OF GONE takes the reader on a trip, indeed, through the stages of grief, but it also serves to remind us that community and friendship are the most important things that can get us through the most difficult episodes of life. I’ll leave it to you to read the book for yourself, but it’s important to say that the characters in the book run the gamut of the word “character”, from naysayers to champions. I can’t imagine going through the conflict that the book focuses on without the dear friends who were present for me as things raged beyond my control.

Conflict is imperative for any good story. My story is jammed with friends  who carried me across the shifting tides of grief.

To view the Kickstarter Campaign, click: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/philmadeira/phil-madeira-the-millionth-mile-and-more-miles

Be grateful for your friends!