Steve Gilliard passed away this morning. He was all of 41.
It was about a year ago that I subscribed to Gilliard’s blog. I was drawn to his writing the same way I was drawn to folks like Digby — he was fiercely honest, amazingly brave and wasn’t afraid to toss in a “motherfucker” into his writing where appropriate. He pegged this administration for the craven cowards that they are long before it was fashionable, and seemed to be a person of great integrity. At the very least, he was a writer who could distill things down into their base elements and present them for what they were without a bunch of extraneous bullshit.
I had been following Jen’s posts for the last few months after Steve collapsed and was put into the hospital, and when Jen announced a couple weeks ago that Steve’s family has asked her to not post any more updates, I felt a sinking feeling in my gut that his condition had taken a turn for the worst.
Steve was one of my favorite writers in the blogosphere, and I had been looking forward to his return. I am stunned and greatly saddened to read of his death. He will definitely be missed.