A Still Life of Hope
Parents of addicts learn to temper our hope even as we never completely lose hope. However, we are terrified of optimism, fearful that it will be punished. It is safer to shut down. But I am open again, and as a consequence I feel the pain and joy of the past and worry about and hope for the future. I know what it is I feel. Everything.
David Sheff • Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction
Back home in Chicago, my parents grew old. I didn’t see this happening and neither did they. They were busy birdwatching, attending new plays, trying new restaurants. Our relationship had mellowed and warmed with time. But then my father, my sweet, strong, and only father—he began to die, and then he died. Words that still don’t sound true five yea... See more
Don’t Bleed on the Artwork: Notes from the Afterlife
Hope that I will still love the things I love, that I’ll still find them in the world. That I won’t crush them, or miss them every time—that sometimes I’ll accidentally touch one with my cane or foot, and it will be a blessing.
Andrew Leland • The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight
The unbearable beauty of parenting
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