Adam's World Weekly for 1/5

“I don’t know how you’re doing it.”

It’s the sentence that was said to me most during 2025.

My answer was usually some combination of, “Neither do I,” and “I don’t have any other choice.”

The year had been bopping along nicely for the first five months. I was going to shows, writing articles, and had decided to turn my One Hit Wondering series of columns into a book.

Then May 29th happened, and I received the call that my parents had been in a car accident, and my mother had passed away, and my father was in a coma.

Nothing was the same after that.

Suddenly I was trying to wrap my mind around the sudden loss of my mother, while taking care of all things medical for my father, and running both their household, and my household.

It was, and still is, overwhelming.

My father is now seven months into a 16 month recovery timeline. It’s a timeline that has seen him shuttled back and forth from a rehab facility to the ER more times than I can count. I’m actually writing this on New Year’s Eve after his latest ER visit. Many of the staff at the hospital immediately recognize me at this point. It isn’t exactly a place where you want to be famous, but most everyone is exceptionally kind to me (although there’s one doctor I’d like to give the Uncle Phil heave to right outta the hospital).

Going through tragedy has a way of effecting friendships, and much like with my cancer year, during all of this some friends have, sadly, turned into acquaintances, while quite a few acquaintances have made up for this by turning into friends.

You really never know how someone is going to react to your life being forever changed, and I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who has helped me out, continually checked in, made sure I was eating, and offered to go to a record store, ballgame, or a show with me.

Over the past seven months I have also learned way too much about the American healthcare system, and I’ve had to fight numerous battles with health insurance companies, winning many of those battles (with one court case still pending).

Because I am my father’s son, merely winning was not enough for me, so I emailed to a top lawyer he used to work with at Pfizer, telling him in great detail that their employees, and retired employees, were getting subpar care from United Healthcare, and asked him to pass along my note to someone who might be able to do something about it. A few months later I received a letter that Pfizer would no longer be using United Healthcare come 2026. I like to think I played a small role in making that happen. If my email was the straw that broke the camel’s back – even better. I Luigi-ed them in my own way.

While all of this was going on, I was still writing. In fact, putting together my One Hit Wondering columns has been some of the only times I’ve been able to feel like myself again. That, and, of course, the gym.

I completed all the columns I needed for the book, and began the pitching process, which isn’t necessarily fun, but, again, it takes my mind off of all the other things I’m dealing with.

After a few months I also dipped my toe back into going to shows, and while I will never go out as much as I once did, and I’m now leaving shows early most of the time, it feels good to be back in my element a few times a month.

Metro-North doing away with 10-trip tickets, and the MTA getting rid of the MetroCard in favor of the new OMNY card, threw me for a bit of a loop. The 10-trip was my preferred ticket, as it saved me money, and while the OMNY card is actually way more convenient then the MetroCard, I think I was on an overload of change for the year, and even small things like these had me like – can ANYTHING in my life stay the same, please???

One good change was that the blog blew up in ways I never imagined, with nearly a quarter of a million page views in 2025. Once again, One Hit Wondering played a role in this, as Google is a huge fan of the column. If you look up any artist I’ve written about along with the words “One Hit Wonder,” my article isn’t just on the first page of results, sometimes it’s the top result!

My mom would’ve been so proud of this, and I’m sure she’s looking down from Heaven telling me I deserve every good thing that happens to me.

She’s also probably telling me I should allow myself to eat dessert more often, but I’m not quite there yet, mom!

Getting through this incredibly difficult year, I think two of the most important things I learned about myself were …

* I am even stronger than I realized.

I always knew I was strong, but handling everything I’m going through, and navigating everything I’ve had to navigate, under an inordinate amount of pressure, I’m getting everything done that needs to be done, and I think I’ve been making all the right decisions (knock on wood).

I have been forced to put on the biggest of big boy pants, and I’m somehow able to run in them.

* Writing is more than just something I do, and something I love, it’s legitimate catharsis for me.

Whether it’s freewriting in a notebook, or doing research for an article, writing, and everything involved with it, is an essential part of my life. Even if I wasn’t a journalist, blogger, and author, I’d have to write, because writing makes me feel good (as an aside, you should really be glad I’m a journalist, blogger, and author, because if I wasn’t I’d be writing some ridiculously long Facebook posts).

I know when most people write a retrospective of their year it’s usually filled with accomplishments, but I think the best way for me to wrap up 2025, and enter 2026, is by saying – I’m still here. I don’t know how, but I’m still here, and if you’re reading this, I’m thankful for you.

Speaking of reading (look at that seamless transition!), this week’s blog update features a look at the charts from 40 years ago, a column that asks where the fun has gone in pop music, and a fresh NYC Scene Report with three new tunes for you to check out.

Read the full column here

Read the full column here

Read the full column here

As always, thanks for reading, and have a great week!

– Adam Bernard