  The Friend, by Matthew Teague Most of September 17, 2012, has evaporated from my mind. I still have a few memories. I have the way the surgeon's voice shook. I remember my wife calling my name while she was still under sedation. And I have an image of the hospital floor, up close. I remember white tile and a hope: Maybe I will never have to get up. Maybe they will just let me die here.
Nicole was thirty-four, and the doctor had been direct: "It's everywhere," he said. "Like somebody dipped a paintbrush in cancer and flicked it around her abdomen." I staggered down a hallway and then collapsed. I remember the tile, close to my face, and then watching it retreat as my best friend picked me up from the floor. His name is Dane Faucheux, and I remember noting, even in the midst of a mental fugue: Dane's a lot stronger than I realized.
I was in shock and stayed there a long time. We don't tell each other the truth about dying, as a people. Not real dying. Real dying, regular and mundane dying, is so hard and so ugly that it becomes the worst thing of all: It's grotesque. It's undignified. No one ever told me the truth about it, not once. When it happened to my beloved, I lost my footing in more than one way. The tiled floor of life—morals, ethics, even laws—became a shifting and relative thing. I smuggled drugs. Lied. Hid money from the IRS.
I think I've hung on to the sensation of the hospital floor and being lifted away from it because it captures everything that followed in the next two years. The shock of mortality. One man's collapse. And another man's refusal to let it happen.   The Photographer Behind the Viral Bernie Photo Explains How It Almost Didn't Happen It's the viral picture that has captivated the nation. The sight of bundled, mitten-clad, mask-wearing Sen. Bernie Sanders sitting on a folding chair at the Inauguration was just one of many the veteran photographer Brendan Smialowski snapped during the Inauguration of President Joe Biden on Wednesday. Little did he know that the seemingly innocent view of the proceedings would go onto break the internet wide open, becoming an iconic peek into an event like no other and spark a tidal wave of creative memes the world over. Smialowski, the Washington D.C.-based photographer who was working the Inauguration behalf of the global news agency AFP, isn't a stranger to having a front row seat to history or even going viral, but his shot of Sanders has served as a unique lighthearted respite during a lead-up that was anything but. The eye behind the iconic shot spoke to Esquire about the photo that inspired the masses. "It's not a great photo, but it is a nice moment."
 The 20 Best Books of 2021 So Far As the pandemic continues to disrupt film and television releases, there remains one entertainment constant we can all count on: new books. By and large, the latest and greatest books are continuing to hit shelves as planned, meaning that when it comes to your literary entertainment diet, you'll never go hungry. Now that we've turned the page to 2021, we're in for another fantastic year in books, beginning with this winter's stunning slate of new releases. Our favorite books of the season come from authors both emerging and established, meditating on everything from life online to life in the intersections of identity. Set everywhere from the all-too-real world to the distant past, and even peering into the speculative future, they offer escape, education, and spiritual enlargement—whatever you're looking for. Not all of these books have hit shelves yet, but if you see something you like, do yourself a favor and pre-order it. When it lands on your doorstep in mere weeks, consider it a gift from Past You—and don't waste any time diving in.  The Best Comedies to Stream On Netflix Right Now When you don't have much to laugh about, sometimes the best medicine is a gut-busting comedy. Whether you're looking to laugh until you cry at grossout antics, watch our generation's finest comedians pratfall with the best of them, or even just chuckle politely at a witty satire, Netflix has something for everyone. The streamer's deep bench of comedies includes everything from mockumentaries to romcoms, dramedies to raunchy films you'd be embarrassed to watch with your family. We took the liberty of selecting 35 of our favorites from across all of comedy's glorious sub-genres, meaning that, whatever kind of laugh you need, Netflix will have it on speed dial.
 Keep Your Prestige Dramas. Discovery+ Is My New Happy Place. "Catch up on prestige television during quarantine," they said last March. "It'll be fun," they said. Esquire's Adrienne Westenfeld heard that suggestion loud and clear, then proceeded to progressively rot her brain with all the seasons of House Hunters and Say Yes to the Dress available on Hulu. Lifestyle television is her Xanax: an invitation to slip away to the blessedly low stakes of her mental beach, where the biggest stressors are whether the cake will rise or the renovations will get done on time. Imagine her delight when, earlier this month, Discovery, the umbrella network behind these programs, entered the streaming wars with Discovery+, a new streaming service boasting over 55,000 episodes of nonfiction television. She's been eating her heart out—and eating a lot of Barefoot Contessa recipes—ever since. Here's why the new streaming service should be on your radar—especially right now.  Make Today the Day You Decide to Start a Skincare Routine. Here, We Did the Hard Part for You. Effective skincare takes more than just washing your face with whatever soap you have lying around and hoping for the best. It's like anything worthwhile: it takes commitment, consistency, and care, not to mention a healthy amount of experimentation till you find the right products for you. That's where Esquire Grooming Editor Garrett Munce comes in; this is a safe space and no one here is expecting you to know the difference between hyaluronic acid and niacinamide overnight. And anyways, building a skincare routine from ground zero takes only a few simple steps, and you'd be surprised by how much of a difference you'll see after just a few weeks of following them. Here, Munce lays it all out—from beginner to advanced—because chances are, once you see your face after a few weeks of moisturizer, you won't ever want to go back.
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Sunday, January 24, 2021
“The Friend”: An Unforgettable Story
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