The Hard Seasons

Answer side by side

What did surviving our worst patch prove about this friendship?

The question sits across the top; you each answer on your own page. Whoever writes second reads the first answer before writing — agree, argue, or correct the record.

Why this question

Plenty of friendships wouldn't have made it. This one did.

And once you’ve both answered

What do you trust now that you couldn't have trusted before?

Answering it honestly

  • Whoever writes second reads the first answer before writing — properly, not a skim. Your page can agree, argue, or correct the record.
  • Be specific. Dates, places, what was playing, who else was there. Wrong details are welcome; they're evidence.
  • Don't negotiate a joint version. Two accounts that refuse to match are worth more than one polished one.

And the house rule, whatever the mode: leave a blank rather than write a lie. A blank can be filled later; a lie sits in the archive forever, and you both have to live with the paperwork.

More from The Hard Seasons

What do we still, after all this time, fundamentally disagree about?

When life pulled us in different directions, what quietly kept the thread intact?

Write the apology you never quite said.