May 29, 2003:

Between scoops of mint chocolate chip she said, "We all know you're obsessed..."

People's cluelessness and lack of empathy go hand in hand. Often based on projection. They read the experiences of others through the lens of their own petty motives, or their own ethical smallnesses, and they respond as though you were acting as they would.

You weren't. People can experience grief without obsession, anguish without self-destruction, anger without violence. Most people had no idea you were going through anything difficult. What appeared as obsession to the handful of people you trusted with the truth was in fact something more like confusion. How could that have happened? What does it mean? Can it be repaired?