Dear Mr. Silver and Silver -

I have spent quite a lot of time reading all of the comments and thinking about things from both sides of the coin. I personally don't have any experience with either having a close friend killed or knowing someone who hit and killed another in an auto accident. I can't imagine what either party has gone through.

I am sorry for the experience that you had with the mother.

What does pop into mind immediately is that this was an accident. A horrible one. As a fellow (I assume from reading Mr. Silver's weight loss blog) believer, I think the key is forgiveness. Forgiveness of the boy who did, on accident, hit and kill a friend. Forgiveness of the mother, who did not, in my opinion, handle herself well.

We give forgiveness whether we want to or not - it really isn't for the person who committed the action against us, it is for us.

We could speculate on a million different reasons why the mother handled herself the way that she did, why the boy didn't get more than a slap on the wrist, etc, etc. We could speculate on a million different ways to try to reach this mother.

In truth, none of it really matters. How she handles herself is up to her. How we move on and handle things is up to us.

I personally think that the very best thing that anyone could do for the kid who killed the cyclist and for his mother is offer them a letter giving them forgiveness. Regardless of whether or not they, in my opinion, your opinion, or any other opinion, deserve it. Perhaps this is just what this kid and his mother need to move on from the nightmare that they too, have found themselves in. Perhaps not.

Just a few thoughts about love/forgiveness.

Again, I am sorry that you had to encounter this woman on the anniversary of the death of a friend.