Monica Veloz says the grief of losing her best friend, Angelica Alvarez, prompted her to share parts of her life she had long kept private. Alvarez died four years ago from stage 4 small-cell lung cancer, Veloz writes, and speaking about their friendship helped her begin to recover.
Veloz’s debut memoir, The Best LOVE Stories Are Between Friends, is due out in July 2027. She says it will include experiences she had not previously shared with friends or family. Although she is a journalist who has generally kept intimate details off social media, she chose to write about her loss and the support friendship can offer, even after a loved one has died.
In a conversation featured in an episode about mourning, Veloz also speaks with Dominican-American creator and beauty influencer Monica Veloz, known online as Monicastylemuse. Veloz has shared aspects of her experiences as an Afro-Latina and her journey through motherhood. After her mother, known as Mama Muse, died of stage four gastric cancer, she grieved publicly as her Instagram and YouTube communities watched.
The discussion explores loneliness after a loss, mourning without shame or fear of judgment, and finding ways to honor loved ones and sustain a connection with them. Its central message is that making grief visible can help people carry their own loss and support others in theirs.
Sources: Refinery29.