Two childhood friends reunite after 11 years apart

A Sydney woman has written a personal essay for The Guardian about reconnecting with her childhood friend after more than a decade apart. The essay was published on 3 November 2026. It traces a friendship that began when both women were nine years old, how it fell apart during a serious illness, and how it was rebuilt.

A friendship that began on the ice

According to the essay, the two first met at an ice-skating party when they were nine. The author was nervous because she could not skate, but she found the afternoon easy and enjoyable. She says the two girls talked as if they had known each other for years, and they skipped the usual introductions.

The pair attended the same high school. They shared a love of books, films and television, and they were fans of the same popular stories. Their friendship grew through sleepovers, late-night talks and long afternoons spent on a backyard trampoline.

Moving in together and a sudden illness

After school the friends went to different universities and saw each other less often. The author found her university years lonely and felt lost for a time. Once she had graduated and started work as a teacher at a large high school, the two friends decided to live together.

They rented a terrace house in Sydney’s inner west a few days after Christmas. The essay describes the first months as happy, with friends visiting, quiet days on a sunny veranda and evenings out along King Street.

Then the author became unwell. She was diagnosed with diffuse large B cell lymphoma, a type of cancer. She writes that her prognosis was good from the start, but the treatment was long and emotionally hard for her.

A breakdown in contact

The author says she found it hard to ask for what she needed. She hoped people would understand her wishes without being told, and she was disappointed when they did not. Instead of speaking openly, she pulled away from her friend. The friend moved out of the house, and the two stopped speaking. The author stopped replying to messages and unfollowed her on Facebook.

For 11 years they had no contact. The author writes that she was first angry and later sad. She often thought about her friend, especially on birthdays, when she met her husband, and when she read a book she wished she could discuss with her.

Reconnecting and what it means

The author says Instagram brought them back together this year. Each followed the other, and her friend sent a message. They met for coffee and cake in the city, and the author describes the reunion as surprisingly simple.

She now sees her friend regularly, although busy work and family lives limit their time together. The author notes that they have missed large parts of each other’s lives, which can feel strange, but she says the old sense of ease has returned.

In the essay, the author writes that friendship, like other forms of closeness, takes courage. She says being open about who you are is frightening, but it can bring real relief. Her account does not present a wider study or data. It offers one person’s experience of loss, illness and reunion.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• The Guardian: I spent 11 years without my childhood friend. Finding our way back together was staggeringly simple

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