Today you are surely going to make me cry! Lol!!! Thank you. Joan Didion is one of the writers who taught me how to look at the world, so that comparison is something I'll carry with me for a long time. I love you always.
My dearest <3 I'm so happy that line stayed with you. It was one of those sentences that just popped up without having planned it and I knew then that it had to be kept.
This is so so good. You pulled me immediately. Eyes are stinging with tears. This section. You nailed it. Thank you.
“Instead, people speak as though we occupy one America. “Unity in diversity,” they call it. With time, I've become less certain. Lately, it seems more accurate to say we inherit different arrangements of it. Each pair of eyes receives a different version. One man lives in a town where the circus is part of the municipal identity and gasoline is extended on trust. Another spends his life assembling hundreds of guitars in a locked room. One person drives himself to the hospital. Another drives through a storm and watches a streetlight become a blue star.”
Thank you so much, Jana. I'm really moved by your reflection and the fact that you quoted what stood out. I think I've become increasingly interested in the idea that we don't all inherit the same place. We inherit vastly different kinds shaped by geography, memory, chance, and the people around us. It means a lot that that section resonated with you <3 and hey, welcome to the Friction Burn gang! I feel so grateful that you are coming along for the ride x
Thank you, Nick :) I'm so glad that line found you. It was one of those thoughts that felt strange until I wrote it down. Hope your travels are going well
I honestly wish I could write like this. I just get my inner monologue down. This is writing.
As for this specific writing, I am an almost hoarder. I collect anything and it gets obsessive. If I like an artist, I get all of their vinyls. If I like a baseball player, I'm on ebay getting all their cards. So it goes without saying that
"Still, we mistake what we collect for what we are looking for."
hit me right in the gut. Now, until we chat again, I'll be searching for the right arrangement of this country for me.
Ray, I loved reading this and I have a feeling I'll be coming back to it. You make everything feel more concrete by sharing your lived experience. I think that's exactly what I was trying to get at.. that we spend so much of our lives collecting things, experiences, even identities, hoping they'll answer a deeper question. I hope you find your arrangement of this country. I have a feeling we're all looking for one <3
Your writing feels like home. Like a friend relaying a story about another time. Words that find their way inside your readers mind to stay a while. Can’t wait to buy your book one day when you get one out there.
Stop 😭 this is so unbelievably kind. Thank you. You've been here watching Friction Burn grow from the beginning, and that means the world to me. I can't wait until I can trade books with you one day. I love you <3
Reading this felt less like reading an essay and more like quietly walking beside someone through grief, awe, and reflection. It reminded me how quickly life can change, how little we truly control, and how easily we mistake what we own for what gives life meaning. By the end, I wasn’t thinking about the storm or the guitars - I was thinking about the quiet privilege of simply being alive.
Thank you so much for this, Dhruva. I love that you ended up thinking about being alive more than the storm or the guitars or the circus, because I think that's where the essay was heading all along. I quite literally wrote it on the drive home and put it together when I was back in a safe place. I'm really grateful you read it with such care xx
Extremely poetic and visual! Love this, your writing is like cinematography FB :D Especially love the theme at the end, how we're all fragmented in the US, even if we're supposedly "united by our diversity." Amazing work <3
Thank you so much, Ethan. Wow. My heart feels so full reading your thoughts today. I love that you picked up on that thread. I've been thinking a lot about how we talk about "America" as though it's one shared experience, when in reality most of us inherit completely different versions of it.
Your mind simply amazes me. You are a modern day Joan Didion & I can’t believe I have the honor of watching your inevitable stardom <3
Ikr
You two hahahaha <3 thank you both xx
Today you are surely going to make me cry! Lol!!! Thank you. Joan Didion is one of the writers who taught me how to look at the world, so that comparison is something I'll carry with me for a long time. I love you always.
You’re writing always feels like it is something straight out of a novel and I just want more of it “I do not remember breathing. Do we ever?” THIS
My dearest <3 I'm so happy that line stayed with you. It was one of those sentences that just popped up without having planned it and I knew then that it had to be kept.
Mustard does not curse often but gosh dang. They absolutely adore how you tell a story. You captivated this condiment.
Captivating a condiment might be my greatest achievement to date. Thank you, Mustard darling! I am sooooo excited for our collab tomorrow ;)
Mustard is so excited for 8 AM EST tomorrow for our collab to go live!!
This is so so good. You pulled me immediately. Eyes are stinging with tears. This section. You nailed it. Thank you.
“Instead, people speak as though we occupy one America. “Unity in diversity,” they call it. With time, I've become less certain. Lately, it seems more accurate to say we inherit different arrangements of it. Each pair of eyes receives a different version. One man lives in a town where the circus is part of the municipal identity and gasoline is extended on trust. Another spends his life assembling hundreds of guitars in a locked room. One person drives himself to the hospital. Another drives through a storm and watches a streetlight become a blue star.”
Thank you so much, Jana. I'm really moved by your reflection and the fact that you quoted what stood out. I think I've become increasingly interested in the idea that we don't all inherit the same place. We inherit vastly different kinds shaped by geography, memory, chance, and the people around us. It means a lot that that section resonated with you <3 and hey, welcome to the Friction Burn gang! I feel so grateful that you are coming along for the ride x
what a gorgeous little peak into your brain
what an honor it is to let you in, my darling <3
This is so powerful!! That ending is wow 🥹
You mean the world to me. Thank you so so much for letting it sit with you. Feeling so lucky to know you
"I do not remember breathing. Do we ever?" Wow! You always surprise me! Thanks!
Thank you, Nick :) I'm so glad that line found you. It was one of those thoughts that felt strange until I wrote it down. Hope your travels are going well
I honestly wish I could write like this. I just get my inner monologue down. This is writing.
As for this specific writing, I am an almost hoarder. I collect anything and it gets obsessive. If I like an artist, I get all of their vinyls. If I like a baseball player, I'm on ebay getting all their cards. So it goes without saying that
"Still, we mistake what we collect for what we are looking for."
hit me right in the gut. Now, until we chat again, I'll be searching for the right arrangement of this country for me.
Ray, I loved reading this and I have a feeling I'll be coming back to it. You make everything feel more concrete by sharing your lived experience. I think that's exactly what I was trying to get at.. that we spend so much of our lives collecting things, experiences, even identities, hoping they'll answer a deeper question. I hope you find your arrangement of this country. I have a feeling we're all looking for one <3
Your imagery is so vivid, I love it! we need a book
Thank you so much Sof <3 that's the goal. Would love to read you and yours, please share it! XO
Your writing feels like home. Like a friend relaying a story about another time. Words that find their way inside your readers mind to stay a while. Can’t wait to buy your book one day when you get one out there.
Stop 😭 this is so unbelievably kind. Thank you. You've been here watching Friction Burn grow from the beginning, and that means the world to me. I can't wait until I can trade books with you one day. I love you <3
Reading this felt less like reading an essay and more like quietly walking beside someone through grief, awe, and reflection. It reminded me how quickly life can change, how little we truly control, and how easily we mistake what we own for what gives life meaning. By the end, I wasn’t thinking about the storm or the guitars - I was thinking about the quiet privilege of simply being alive.
Thank you so much for this, Dhruva. I love that you ended up thinking about being alive more than the storm or the guitars or the circus, because I think that's where the essay was heading all along. I quite literally wrote it on the drive home and put it together when I was back in a safe place. I'm really grateful you read it with such care xx
Beautiful, thank you
My GOAT! Always x
Extremely poetic and visual! Love this, your writing is like cinematography FB :D Especially love the theme at the end, how we're all fragmented in the US, even if we're supposedly "united by our diversity." Amazing work <3
Thank you so much, Ethan. Wow. My heart feels so full reading your thoughts today. I love that you picked up on that thread. I've been thinking a lot about how we talk about "America" as though it's one shared experience, when in reality most of us inherit completely different versions of it.
i could read 1000 pages of your writing and never get enough
This is just so fucking good.
Can I come to ur book signing whenever you do that