The Stranger Who Stayed: Matthew Finds Love

In part four of our series, we meet Matthew Congdon again—designer, sharp-tongued truth-teller, and stage-four cancer patient—still trying to make sense of a life that keeps blindsiding him. This chapter brings an unexpected turn: a new love that arrived just days after his diagnosis, in the form of a tall Dutchman in white pants named Ludo. Matthew reflects on allowing himself to be cared for, trusting life’s sudden shifts, stepping away from his work, finding joy in the small stuff, and the fears and imaginings that shape the way he’s approaching the end of life.