Two years ago today, I woke up in one of the nicest hotels I’d ever seen—white sheets, sun pouring through sheer curtains, the skyline of Los Angeles humming outside the window. The kind of morning that should have felt ordinary, but wasn’t. My chest was electric with anticipation. It was the day Lost ended.
Not just the show. An era. A world. A lifeline.
I’d come to LA alone, but I wasn’t alone. We were thousands, scattered across countries and time zones, drawn together by a plane crash and a smoke monster, sure—but more than that, by the strange, tender way that a story can make you feel seen when nothing else does.
We met online. Then in Hawaii. In Chicago. In tiny cafés and big theatres and conference rooms that didn’t know what hit them. We shared theories like gospel, rewound scenes like they held the answers to life, shouted across forums and Skype calls and Twitter threads long before those places got cynical. We screamed. We sobbed. We felt together.
I’ve told this story before. But no one really knows.
No one knows that Lost didn’t just change my life—it saved it. Not metaphorically. Not in the Hallmark way. I mean: I was done. I was dust. I had tried to die.
I’d dropped out of school. I’d dropped out of life. I was sleeping through daylight and staring through night, locked in a room that smelled like defeat. My body ached with nothing. I couldn’t cry anymore. Couldn’t move. I was a girl at the bottom of the ocean, unsure if up even existed.
Then one day, I remembered that a friend had told me about a show. I don’t know why I reached for it—maybe boredom, maybe instinct—but I typed Lost into Amazon and ordered Season 2. In English this time. No more bad dubbing. Just the real thing.
And slowly, breath by breath, I came back.
I found podcasts. Not just commentary, but voices that made me feel less alone. Cliff and Stephanie, bickering like they loved each other. Jay and Jack, sarcastic in the way that made me laugh out loud for the first time in weeks. Ryan and Jen, whose warmth made the world feel soft again.
I didn’t want to die while Lost was still airing.
And week by week, episode by episode, I wanted to live.
There’s no explaining that to someone who’s never needed a story to survive. But if you’ve ever clung to something fictional because the real world was too sharp, you know. You know.
Lost became my oxygen. The mystery, the music, the characters breaking and healing and failing and trying again. The community that held me without asking me to be more cheerful, or less broken. I started reaching out. Started writing emails. Making friends. Real ones. I’d been terrified of people for years—flinched when the phone rang—but here I was, laughing with strangers who somehow knew me better than anyone in my own house did.
They became my people. We still talk. Some of them are the reason I ever believed in love. Some are the reason I’m not dead.
That final night in the Orpheum Theatre, tears running down my face, Michael Emerson breathing the same air as me—God, I was alive. I was alive and surrounded and full of gratitude so big I could barely sit still. I don’t remember what I wore. I remember who I was. Someone who’d made it. Someone who had a then and a now.
Would I be here without Lost?
Would I be blogging, podcasting, running my own business, raising a son, dreaming like it’s not dangerous?
I don’t know.
I just know that when the world went dark, a story turned on the light. And the people who lived inside that story—fictional and real—stood in the doorway and said, You can come back.
So I did.
And if someone ever tells you that TV shows are just a waste of time, send them here.
Some stories don’t just entertain.
Some stories save lives.
Mine was one of them.
And its name was Lost.
It changed my life as well. Not so dramatically as your life, but still a lot. It opened my life up to people from across the globe, like you Winnie and others. The first podcast I ever listened to was The Transmission. Now I listen to a good handful. I have made friends and shared my life thanks to a TV Show. There are other shows that come close, Downton Abby & Fringe, but I don’t see another show like LOST coming around for a while.
Thanks for sharing Anne!
Geoff,
That was one of the best things about Lost: getting to know people who not only live in your own country or even continent, but all across the world. Sharing a passion, maybe even an obsession with them is even more special and the connection we all share will forever remain, even if the contact has slowed down a bit since the end of the show.
Anne-Sophie, I am so thankful that we met through the TV Show LOST. I am eternally grateful for our friendship and to even a small part of this amazing journey that you are on. You’ve become quite the source of inspiration to so many others and I’m very proud of you.
As you know, LOST changed my life as well. Starting a podcast about LOST caused me to find my true mission in life which is to Entertain, Educate, Encourage, and Inspire others. Yes, I can and will do all those things through more than just podcasting. However, it was was the LOST community that launched gspn.tv and showed me how powerful the medium of podcasting is when sharing your message and having the ability to make a positive difference in the lives of others.
It’s my hope that there will be more things, like LOST, that will come around and have such a profound, positive impact, on people’s lives all over the world.
Thank you so much, Cliff and right back at you.
I couldn’t imagine you not having creating gspn.tv and everything that involves your brand. Look how far you’ve come since you’ve launched that podcast. You are making a difference on a daily basis and as you know, you and Stephanie have done incredible things for me.
I too am extremely grateful for having such a great relationship wit you. I still remember the first time you mentioned me on one of your podcasts and how excited I was. The journey we’ve been on because of Lost is sometimes hard to believe.
I am not sure if there’ll be ever another show like Lost, but life has changed so much that I am not sure I need it. LOL
What an amazing journey you’ve been on. Life is worth clinging to, even when you have no more strength to hold on. Lost came along, grabbed us like The Smoke Monster, and would not let us go. I found that the world surrounding LOST; the ARG’s, podcasts, and various fan sites made the show come alive, all year round. Thank you LOST, and the fans around the world for making life, a better place to be.
Hi,
thanks for commenting. Yes, life is worth clinging on to if you have a reason and Lost and this incredible community thankfully happened to come along to be my life vest. I love your Smokey analogy as it describes exactly what Lost did to us. I agree that the fans and everything around the weekly shows made come alive even more and made it all the more special. 🙂
I am thankful to LOST for many things as well, Anne – and you are definitely high on that list. I feel honored to count you as a friend….just as the show taught us, we are connected forever even when we aren’t physically together 🙂
love you!
xoxo
a
Alison,
your loving heart, your kind spirit and your beautiful smile have carried me through many dark days. I love you always and yes, even though we are thousands of miles apart, we’re deeply connected.
Anne-Sophie, thanks for creating that video montage and for this post. I agree with everything you mentioned. In many ways, LOST came at the perfect time (perfect time in our lives, perfect time in relation to the explosion of Social Media and Podcasting, etc).
I don’t see LOST being touched by other shows, not only in it’s excellent stories and acting, but also in how many lives it has changed.
Wayne
Wayne,
I agree with you. I don’t think there’ll ever be anything like Lost and its community creating nature. Fringe is great and Once upon a time too, but nothing compared to Lost. I am just glad we had Lost and I have people like you in my life now. 🙂
Lost definitely changed my life. I’m so happy that I got to add you to the list of wonderful friendships I made as a result. xoxo
Colleen,
I remember the first time I met you and I was starstruck. I saw you as a role model and a girl who was in the inner circle of all those cool Lost podcasters. 🙂 I will forever be grateful for how kind and loving you welcomed me into your life.
I don’t know that I can ever express how much the entire Lost experience meant to me. I truly am met with looks of “uh, okay” when I even mention flying out to LA for our finale extravaganza, much less the hours spent weekly listening to podcasts and analyzing theories. Lost couldn’t have been that without all the people I met online & in person that were just as into as I was. I found a true family with everyone. Our time in LA was special, and I hope you know I am *always* here for you: email, facebook or phone, anytime, day or night. I love you dearly and appreciate Lost even more because of what it meant for your life. You are so spectacular and I miss you tons!! We simply must do brunch again soon. 🙂
Love always,
your roomie
Spending the time with you in LA will forever be one of the favorite trips of my life. Meeting you was one of the great benefits of the Lost experience. I hope we can do a sequel very soon. 🙂