Inside View: Em Remembered

February 05, 2008

Em Remembered

FOUR YEARS AGO, peacefully and in her sleep, Emma Candy lost her battle with cancer. I knew a day later when I saw a spike in blog traffic from "May I Be Frank," the blog Em wrote during her last year of life. I first encountered Em, a woman I never saw, by following her 3AM clicks back to her blogroll. She visited in early mornings from her London flat. By reading about her struggles, I learned how terrible it feels to puke black slime and to have your insides suck away your strength. She died of cancer on Thursday, aged 36 years in London Bridge, about a year after my dad died of the same disease. Early detection of cancer makes the condition more operable and today, Two Tits and A Vote gives a louder voice to an issue that needs to remain on the centre stage in Ireland. The picture at left was shot by a friend along the Thames at London Bridge following a bout of shoe window shopping. Her friends Meroë, Colin, Linda, Ernest and Rob wrote, "She was tempted by some furry boots but felt they were a little extravagant. Candygirl was a tough cookie till the end...telling us off for being upset and ordering the nurses around. " Candygirl's blog made her happy during her last months on earth. "She loved getting everyone's posts as I know you loved reading hers. It would be great if people would like to post their thoughts." Knowing how Emma, the virtual Candygirl felt about blogging, makes me realise there's a valuable social connection that we foster when writing online. I'm glad I still have the opportunity to read what Emma was thinking--Six Apart graciously permit her blog to remain intact--and I often wonder if anything I wrote might have entertained her, especially during her last few weeks. Her friends said, "She had talked about you when I saw she had linked to your blog. We like the way you hammer out the facts like news (but probably more truthful). We were both interested in the same things you are and both worked in this so-called "high-tech" world." The torch has been passed, burning with Em's lovely memory.