The Hard Seasons

Answer side by side

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

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

The argument we've run so many times it has its own furniture.

And once you’ve both answered

State your final position for the record — then concede exactly one inch, in writing.

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

How do we actually repair? Describe our method — we have one, even if we've never named it.

What did surviving our worst patch prove about this friendship?

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