For those who don’t know, Steve Silberman passed away recently. I’ve been trying to find a good way to write about his passing here. Steve wrote Neurotribes, a book which changed the way people see autism. For that I will always be grateful. He was a great science journalist, an expert on the Grateful Dead and other music and so much more.
His family and friends held a life celebration for Steve and I’ve linked to it below. The video will only be live for a short while, so don’t put off watching it. People who knew Steve much better than I and people who were much closer to Steve spoke and did a much better job than I ever could, so I will keep this brief.
If you watch the video you will hear people talk about all the amazing things Steve did. And they were amazing. But they spent most of their time talking about what a good human Steve was. That church was packed because a lot of people sincerely loved Steve.
I commented to a friend recently, “Ever notice that all the pictures people share of Steve have Steve hugging them?”
I can’t think of a better example of a successful life. Be excellent in what you do, and that includes being a beautiful human being.
—
By Matt Carey
Left Brain Right Brain 
Well said, Matt. I never met Steve. We were separated by an ocean and a continent. Our online interactions were all too brief. But he was a dear friend and leaves a legacy of love.
I have recently lost another dear friend. This description of her by someone else could equally apply to Steve.
“Such a truly enjoyable person to be with. Stimulating, fluent, so attractive and seemingly full of good health, emotionally and physically. A felt loss.”
“A felt loss.” Three words that say it all.
Mike Stanton
Thank you. It was lovely, just like him.