A girl is like a kite, without her mother’s steady hold on the string, she might just float away, be lost somewhere among the clouds. Kristin Harrah author of The Great Alone
The Great Alone has several themes but the thread that runs through the story is that of an abusive, mentally ill father and husband. Later today I’m interviewing two young women who lost their mothers not to disease or even abandonment but to murder. Their mothers were murdered by their husbands, the daughter’s abusive step-fathers. Mother loss can leave a daughter feeling ungrounded, like a kite floating in space. An “on purpose” death, like murder and suicide, is a whole different dimension.
As I write my book on mother loss, I’m seeing how each daughter “speaks” to every other daughter who has experienced loss. Early mother loss feels especially tragic until one considers the meaning of abandonment or murder. A daughter losing her mother to dementia feels very alone but can appreciate the gift of having her mother for 60 or 70 years, an early loss daughter can hardly contemplate losing her mother “twice”…and so the circle continues.
Affirmation: I learn from the experience of others.
Coaching questions: What life stories have spoken loudest to you? How have they made a difference in your life? How does your story help others?
Life after losing a mother 