I decided that today is the right time to share why I wrote this show. Fair warning: this one gets a little personal.
2024 - A Most Difficult Year
In early 2024, I lost a dear friend to cancer. A friend I have known for more than half my life, and with whom I shared countless laughs and adventures. He was a brother to me. His name is Michael Nestor, and he died on March 11, 2024, at the age of 43. I miss him every day.
I was still processing that loss when, six months later, a tragic fire claimed my mother and stepfather's home of 25 years. As I write this in January of 2026, that was only 14 months ago. It was horrible, stressful, heartbreaking, frustrating, and exhausting. Thankfully they got through it - we all did. But it compounded the grief I was already feeling.
Music as a Healer
Throughout my life, music has been a source of comfort and healing. It has helped me navigate and endure the most difficult moments of my life, 2024 included.
Writing this show was therapy of sorts. It started with a single song, turned into an idea, and then a goal, and then blossomed into its current form. As the concept unfolded and evolved, I saw an opportunity to guide the story toward something personal and profound, but meaningful to everyone. Grief as an expression of love, and the power we have inside us to find strength in sadness.
Rewriting the Ending
If I Could Go isn't about Michael, but he is certainly part of it. It's about the feelings surrounding life, love, and loss.
A grieving mother is featured prominently in the show, and her story is certainly inspired by real events, and a real person.
Today I will share with Michael's mother that I have written this show, and that it is dedicated to Michael. What a privilege.
The story changes. Love survives.