‘And Just Like That’ Isn’t Perfect, But It Gets Grief Right
In the ‘Sex and the City’ reboot, Carrie Bradshaw’s arc is one of the most truthful depictions of mourning I’ve ever seen on TV.
This isGrief at a Distance, a column by Matt Ortile examining his grief over his mother’s death in the Philippines during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sex and the CityGood for her
And Just Like Thata “her [breast] cancer came back” storyline could work (i kind of hope for it tbh?) if it’s done with grace and respect; cancer happens to a lot of women and families, and seeing how Samantha’s family—her friends—grieve would be compelling
And Just Like ThatSex and the City
Sex and the CitySex and the City
And Just Like That
And Just Like ThatVogueAnd Just Like ThatSex and the CityatWhat comes next?
her
And Just Like That
And Just Like That
Matt Ortile is the author of the essay collection The Groom Will Keep His Name. He is also the executive editor of Catapult magazine, and writes regularly for Condé Nast Traveler. Previously, he was the founding editor of BuzzFeed Philippines. He is a MacDowell Fellow and has written for Vogue, Esquire, Out, Into, and BuzzFeed News, among others. He is a graduate of Vassar College, which means he now lives in Brooklyn. You can find more of his work on mattortile.com and on Twitter @ortile.
Enter your email address to receive notifications for author Matt Ortile
Success!
Confirmation link sent to your email to add you to notification list for author Matt Ortile
More by this author
How to Date While You’re Grieving
The point of dating is to get to know another person. It’s a process made more confusing when, in my grief, I’m getting reacquainted with myself.
Publishers Brunch Believes Book Memes Can Bring Us Together
In an interview with Catapult magazine, Publishers Brunch shares how Instagram memes foster a sense of community in the publishing industry.
My Mom, Princess Diana, and Me
At what point does someone we’ve lost become only a story we tell, more myth than memory?
More in this series
The Downside of Radical Honesty
The problem with radical honesty is that we are not transparent to ourselves—we are always biased, and so is the feedback we provide.
My Mother Lives Here Because I Live Here
It was the middle of a pandemic. Mom had just died of cancer. Why leave my home of four and a half years?
I Can’t Defeat My Grief, But I’m Learning to Carry It
In video games, dead parent storylines give a character depth. Their grief becomes a plot point, something to overcome.