hey, friend (zine)

In the wake of the 2016 election, anxiety about the future began to reach a fever pitch. In response, I, like many, turned to social media in search of direction — in search of comfort. In the years before the election, I had taken to posting what I called “hey, friend” letters online; short, but often emotional and (hopefully) reassuring messages that I hope brought comfort to those who would read them. And so, as a way to distract myself from the world, I compiled those letters, plus an excerpt from Adam Gnade’s The Do-It Yourself Guide to Frighting the Big Motherfuckin’ Sad, into a zine (pictured right). I hand wrote the original by myself, and after sharing photos of it online, I began to receive requests for a copy from friends, old and new. The subsequent copies were written by typewriter, and all copies of the zine were bound by hand. Only 12 copies were made, all of which were mailed out across the country.