“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
This quote from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of my all-time favorite movie lines and one I genuinely think about often. Tonight, I learned that lesson in a very real, very sad way.
Life moves pretty fast.
I had just settled into watching the live stream of "The Mindy Project" panel at PaleyFest, smiling at my computer screen and laughing.
As an avid TV watcher for the entirety of my 27 years on earth, I have become accustomed to this fast-paced world in which our eyes are more often glued to screens of varying size than they are to nature, to people, to our feet moving on the sidewalk, to LIFE. While the content on these screens give me immense pleasure and entertainment, I am not exempt from spiraling down the rabbit hole, finding myself in a technology haze, resurfacing for air, not quiet sure how many hours or days have passed since I skipped my last ad. The same experience can apply to working, enjoying relationships and vacations, or simply getting through our days, and all the while time does not wait for us.
The video feed played on and even my devoted fangirl eyes strayed to a new browser tab, to Facebook.
If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
It only took a few seconds for me to scroll downward through my newsfeed to see a post on Ned Vizzini's wall, my Facebook friend and WaldenPonders interviewee. A stranger's comment caught me off guard and initiated instant panic. Digitally inscribed in an almost rude form of lazy lowercase were the letters “rip”.
An immediate Google search confirmed the devastating news. Ned, a highly accomplished young adult author and screenwriter whom I'd conducted an interview with this past July, had committed suicide after a near lifelong battle with depression and anxiety.
He was only 32 and wrote and spoke publicly of his disease, most notably chronicled in his semi-autobiographical novel It's Kind of A Funny Story, which was turned into a feature film in 2010. Our interview is even more poignant and heartbreaking now, as his words were lined with hope and talk of a long-term future tragically never to be realized.
Almost as unbelievable is to just now learn the news, as he'd taken his life on December 19th. How could I have missed something like this? Life. Family. Christmas. Business. Resolutions. Some recent Facebook posts echo my sudden shock, four months late, blindsided by a fast pace.
On March 10, I set my DVR to record the new NBC drama series “Believe”. Since then, I’ve been busy. Busy with work, busy with personal matters, busy sleeping, busy having fun, busy doing absolutely nothing. Aren’t we all? Such is life. I'd been meaning to catch up and watch, primarily in support of Ned, who had gotten an incredible career break working as an Executive Story Editor on the series, alongside the likes of creator Alfonso Cuarón and producer J.J. Abrams. Had I watched the premiere episode when it aired, I would have seen a title card at the end of the program reading, "In memory of Ned Vizzini 1981-2013". I had intended to email him and share my congratulations upon viewing.
I never met Ned in person, and though I only spoke with him once over the phone, I understood that he was an incredibly smart, poignant, and thoughtful man full of stories, humor, and love for his wife Sabra and young son Felix.
Ironically, today, March 25th, was the release date of the second installation of Ned's House of Secrets book series with co-author Chris Columbus. I'm saddened that Ned could not witness the many successes awaiting him this year and beyond.
In one of our last emails regarding my article, Ned wrote, “Courtney, this looks perfect, and in addition to being a great interview, it is a really kind and insightful look at The Other Normals, a book I am watching gain an audience in the shadow of Funny Story."
Life moves pretty fast.
I had just settled into watching the live stream of "The Mindy Project" panel at PaleyFest, smiling at my computer screen and laughing.
As an avid TV watcher for the entirety of my 27 years on earth, I have become accustomed to this fast-paced world in which our eyes are more often glued to screens of varying size than they are to nature, to people, to our feet moving on the sidewalk, to LIFE. While the content on these screens give me immense pleasure and entertainment, I am not exempt from spiraling down the rabbit hole, finding myself in a technology haze, resurfacing for air, not quiet sure how many hours or days have passed since I skipped my last ad. The same experience can apply to working, enjoying relationships and vacations, or simply getting through our days, and all the while time does not wait for us.
The video feed played on and even my devoted fangirl eyes strayed to a new browser tab, to Facebook.
If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
It only took a few seconds for me to scroll downward through my newsfeed to see a post on Ned Vizzini's wall, my Facebook friend and WaldenPonders interviewee. A stranger's comment caught me off guard and initiated instant panic. Digitally inscribed in an almost rude form of lazy lowercase were the letters “rip”.
An immediate Google search confirmed the devastating news. Ned, a highly accomplished young adult author and screenwriter whom I'd conducted an interview with this past July, had committed suicide after a near lifelong battle with depression and anxiety.
He was only 32 and wrote and spoke publicly of his disease, most notably chronicled in his semi-autobiographical novel It's Kind of A Funny Story, which was turned into a feature film in 2010. Our interview is even more poignant and heartbreaking now, as his words were lined with hope and talk of a long-term future tragically never to be realized.
Almost as unbelievable is to just now learn the news, as he'd taken his life on December 19th. How could I have missed something like this? Life. Family. Christmas. Business. Resolutions. Some recent Facebook posts echo my sudden shock, four months late, blindsided by a fast pace.
On March 10, I set my DVR to record the new NBC drama series “Believe”. Since then, I’ve been busy. Busy with work, busy with personal matters, busy sleeping, busy having fun, busy doing absolutely nothing. Aren’t we all? Such is life. I'd been meaning to catch up and watch, primarily in support of Ned, who had gotten an incredible career break working as an Executive Story Editor on the series, alongside the likes of creator Alfonso Cuarón and producer J.J. Abrams. Had I watched the premiere episode when it aired, I would have seen a title card at the end of the program reading, "In memory of Ned Vizzini 1981-2013". I had intended to email him and share my congratulations upon viewing.
I never met Ned in person, and though I only spoke with him once over the phone, I understood that he was an incredibly smart, poignant, and thoughtful man full of stories, humor, and love for his wife Sabra and young son Felix.
Ironically, today, March 25th, was the release date of the second installation of Ned's House of Secrets book series with co-author Chris Columbus. I'm saddened that Ned could not witness the many successes awaiting him this year and beyond.
In one of our last emails regarding my article, Ned wrote, “Courtney, this looks perfect, and in addition to being a great interview, it is a really kind and insightful look at The Other Normals, a book I am watching gain an audience in the shadow of Funny Story."
It's incredibly rare to receive feedback once interviews are published, but Ned was eager to see it through, and I'm grateful for his enthusiasm towards WaldenPonders. He also asked that I tweet the story using #Fanzinis, the name his loyal readers had dubbed themselves, mentioning his desire to support them.
Currently on his community Facebook page, the 2nd post from the top is a link to my article of his and Columbus’ appearance at the LA Times Festival of Books in 2013.
His caption reads: “This was a fun day!”
As a writer and mental health advocate, Ned Vizzini was a voice for the outsider, the misunderstood, the “other normal”, and my thoughts go out to his family and to all the Fanzinis and kids who read his words, connect with his stories, and feel inspired and less alone.
In It's Kind of A Funny Story, the fictionalized version of Ned says, "That's all I can do. I'll keep at it and hope it gets better."
Ned, thank you for your voice, your stories, and your fun.
"Believe" like Ned. It gets better.
Currently on his community Facebook page, the 2nd post from the top is a link to my article of his and Columbus’ appearance at the LA Times Festival of Books in 2013.
His caption reads: “This was a fun day!”
As a writer and mental health advocate, Ned Vizzini was a voice for the outsider, the misunderstood, the “other normal”, and my thoughts go out to his family and to all the Fanzinis and kids who read his words, connect with his stories, and feel inspired and less alone.
In It's Kind of A Funny Story, the fictionalized version of Ned says, "That's all I can do. I'll keep at it and hope it gets better."
Ned, thank you for your voice, your stories, and your fun.
"Believe" like Ned. It gets better.
Addendum: While writing this, I watched the 100th episode of "Glee", which featured a cover of Oh Honey's gorgeous song, "Be Okay," and I'd like to end by sharing the official video, so that the song may find you in the here and now, uplifted and okay. Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
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