And I have no more time for denying that truth. Death - or the prospect of death - has a way of clearing away everything that is not real, and in that space of stark and utter realness, I was faced with this truth: I do not merely love Rayya I am in love with Rayya. As Ann Patchett said once of our friendship: 'Your love for Rayya has always been writ large.'īut something happened to my heart and mind in the days and weeks following Rayya's diagnosis. Anyone who has ever seen us together knows that I am devoted to Rayya. I have spoken about her so many times on this page, and many of you have heard me speak about her in my speeches, too (such as my 'Hummingbird' speech, where I sang her praises with all the love I could muster.) Some of you have even come to see the two of us speaking together on stage, over the years. She's my role model, my traveling companion, my most reliable source of light, my fortitude, my most trusted confidante. She's my best friend, yes, but it's always been bigger than that. Many of you already know who Rayya Elias is to me. I cancelled everything in my life that could be cancelled, and I went straight to her side, where I have been ever since. From that moment forward, everything became about HER. In the moment I first learned of Rayya's diagnosis, a trap door opened at the bottom of my heart (a trap door I didn't even know was there) and my entire existence fell straight through that door. My best friend Rayya Elias was diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer - a disease for which there is no cure.

This spring, I received news that would change my life forever. There is something I wish to tell you today - something which I hope and trust you will receive with grace.

Rayya elias