Twelve Days is a fifteen-post blog written by DarkShadows, and can be read here (cw: death, terminal illness). It features many Fears. Spoilers ahead.
The story’s about the emotional journey of Michael Zarkoff, whose wife Andrea is diagnosed with an aggressive, fast-spreading breast cancer. The doctors say she has a good chance of survival with chemotherapy, but Michael and Andrea are both, understandably, terrified. Michael’s Fears begin haunting him during this period of emotional disturbance.
Twelve Days is notable for multiple reasons, the foremost of which is its poignant depiction of Michael’s grief, fear, and guilt. It was almost emotionally taxing to read (I’ll admit I teared up at one point – I’ve grown soft in my old age), and I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to write, since it’s inspired by some of the author’s own life experiences. DarkShadows has done an excellent job of making the reader empathize with Michael’s experience.
The blog also features some interesting portrayals of Fears. Michael’s demons manifest in many different ways – from a surgeon at the hospital where Andrea’s staying to a priest at his church. I think the blog’s message is one of survival – of grief, of mental illness, and of life. After Andrea’s death, the Man and the Girl insist that Michael tell them what he’s going to do next. Michael’s response is that he doesn’t know, but he thinks he has to get through today first. As someone with mental illnesses, this really hit home for me – this sort of one-step-at-a-time, slow healing process is something I used for years. It’s implied that Michael suffers from an anxiety disorder in addition to his grief, so Twelve Days works on two different levels, both of which jive very well with one another.
I’d most definitely recommend this blog. It’s truly excellent.
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