John is a writer. He is finishing his biggest, best, saddest novel. As every good writer he gives a copy of his novel to his closest friends.
“Hey, John. Your novel is great,” one of his friends, Amanda, says. “It is so emotional. It is very sad. I cannot stop crying.”
Two other friends call him and tell him how they liked the book and how it is so emotional. But they also say they cannot stop crying. They cannot work. They just stay at home and cry.
Weeks later, John goes to the funeral of those friends. They all committed suicide.
John takes the printed copies of the novel and throws them into his fireplace. He opens his laptop and deletes the whole book. He doesn’t want to hurt people. He doesn’t want to hurt people. He wants to entertain. He does not want to destroy lives. He has to do one more thing. He dials a number.
“Claire, please stop reading my book. Please, throw it into the rubbish bin or burn it. Please, do it now.”
Originally posted 2020-10-12 09:02:00.