Advice | Carolyn Hax: Too late to accept a decade-old apology, accidentally left unread?

Dear Carolyn: About 12 years ago, one of my closest and most important friendships imploded. Both of us were going through some things, as well as dealing with drama/trauma within our friend group. Neither of us could be what each other needed, and at times we were the exact opposite.

The kill shot to our relationship came in the form of an email detailing how I was not only predominantly responsible for the deterioration of the relationship, but also a burden to our other friends. As someone who experienced abandonment and alienation by and from friends during the majority of my childhood — something he knew — this was particularly painful. I got one paragraph into the email, closed it and created a rule to put anything in a “do not read” folder and moved on with my life.