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Together Again: A momentary memoir
Being 9,000 miles from the ones you love can be tough, it is tougher still when one of them is dying and you cannot be there to provide support and comfort.
This is the story of a brave woman's battle with a malignant disease and her family's struggle to help with the fight.
Told by her son as a means of coping with his grief, we are transported from bustling New York to sleepy Otaki, New Zealand on a journey that takes us through despair, laughter and hope; and when all seems lost, we are left with the resounding echo of love.
This book is for anyone that has struggled with the grief of losing a loved one and who wants to know that they're not alone.
This is the story of a brave woman's battle with a malignant disease and her family's struggle to help with the fight.
Told by her son as a means of coping with his grief, we are transported from bustling New York to sleepy Otaki, New Zealand on a journey that takes us through despair, laughter and hope; and when all seems lost, we are left with the resounding echo of love.
This book is for anyone that has struggled with the grief of losing a loved one and who wants to know that they're not alone.
73 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 17, 2009
9 people want to read
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September 25, 2016
The only way to remain forever a child is to hang around with your Mom. To her, you'll never grow up, never mind grow old.
When someone you love is dying, you experience every human emotion in a brief time span as you attempt to come to terms with tragedy. If you're on the other side of the world, you have all the usual suspects plus the frustration of needing to be two places at one time.
The author's mother Josie was a feisty, independent woman born to a poor family in WWII London. She trained as a secretary, relocated herself to New Zealand, met and married her beloved husband, and raised three children. As a wife and mother, and then a widow, she was a human whirlwind whose intelligence, wit, and kindness drew people to her.
Her way of dying was fully as unique as her way of living. Typically, she pre-planned her own funeral and even insisted on being taken to the funeral home to pick out and pay for the casket. She also oversaw the division of her personal property to ensure that the job was done properly. Every mother looks at her grown children and sees the babies she brought into the world and nurtured, not the adults they have become.
This is a completely human story of life and death and love and loss. You hear about people dying "quietly" and perhaps some do. For the living, it's a time of chaos and wild emotion swings. We know we should celebrate the lives of our dead, but there is still grief, along with pain, anger, and regrets.
This author opened up completely, giving the full story where some would have hedged and covered up. The result is hilarious and heart-warming. I read this book several years ago and I'm still re-telling some of the stories in it.
When someone you love is dying, you experience every human emotion in a brief time span as you attempt to come to terms with tragedy. If you're on the other side of the world, you have all the usual suspects plus the frustration of needing to be two places at one time.
The author's mother Josie was a feisty, independent woman born to a poor family in WWII London. She trained as a secretary, relocated herself to New Zealand, met and married her beloved husband, and raised three children. As a wife and mother, and then a widow, she was a human whirlwind whose intelligence, wit, and kindness drew people to her.
Her way of dying was fully as unique as her way of living. Typically, she pre-planned her own funeral and even insisted on being taken to the funeral home to pick out and pay for the casket. She also oversaw the division of her personal property to ensure that the job was done properly. Every mother looks at her grown children and sees the babies she brought into the world and nurtured, not the adults they have become.
This is a completely human story of life and death and love and loss. You hear about people dying "quietly" and perhaps some do. For the living, it's a time of chaos and wild emotion swings. We know we should celebrate the lives of our dead, but there is still grief, along with pain, anger, and regrets.
This author opened up completely, giving the full story where some would have hedged and covered up. The result is hilarious and heart-warming. I read this book several years ago and I'm still re-telling some of the stories in it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review