how does ponyboy recover from his friends' deaths?

Ponyboy's initial reaction is to give up on everything. His grades drop in school, and he exhibits violent reactions (threatens one of the Socs with a broken bottle). All in all, Pony is going in the wrong direction. It isn't until Pony realizes that something is bothering Soda that he begins to come around. He sees that his own behavior is causing problems within his family and realizes that he isn't the only one in the household with problems.... he's simply refused to see them.

The last part of Ponyboy's healing comes when he finds the note Johnny left for him in Gone With the Wind. Johnny's note essentially frees him of the guilt he uncessarily carried for Bob's death. His healing is complete when he puts his story to paper for his English assignment. It's the story of The Outsiders.