Julie Hambuchen

Surprising Julie was the best feeling, and I only experienced it twice. One time I said something uncharacteristically direct in a meeting, and she later asked me gleefully what I had been thinking. The second time, I managed to give her a gift she actually liked, even though she made it clear that she didn’t need any fucking gifts. It was a take-out box of bread pudding, from a now-closed restaurant in my neighborhood.

Julie encouraged me through rough days at work, a job transition, parenting challenges. She made me feel heard and seen and loved. When my kids were applying to college, talking to her was like having an entire cheering section.

I was always slightly awed by her willingness to say whatever she thought, whenever, without holding back. That doesn’t come naturally for me, but whenever I manage it, I think to myself that it’s Julie’s lasting influence on me.