“His hands held the hammer and saw that built your childhood home. The place where you and your brothers loved and fought, and your mother died. His hands guided the spade and ploughed the earth. They were giving hands.“

Antonio Grisancich (1928 – 2010)

The first thing I wrote after my father died was his eulogy.

This piece of writing was one of the most difficult things I ever wrote, as anyone who has ever had to write a eulogy will know. How do you articulate a lifetime into a couple of A4 pages?

I have since written through my father’s grief many times since that first difficult ode. I find the act of writing both calming and restorative. Despite some tears shed when reading back through my words, I find comfort in the memories.

I wrote They Say in that first year of extreme grief. It gave me solace and comfort.

Follow the link to the story here.