In this week’s Life Writers Vlog, we explore early experiences with death—a topic that, while not the happiest, is important to reflect on.
This prompt comes from my book, I Remember: Fifty Prompts to Write Your Life Story, a collection of prompts from my years of teaching writing workshops.
It’s a handy little book, perfect for jotting down thoughts while waiting at appointments.
First, make a list of early losses. Pick one to write about, and when you’re finished, share your story with us.
But always remember, the only way to do this wrong is to not do it at all!
Until next time, happy writing!
My first experience with death came in the early morning hours of February 7, 1958. My younger sister, with whom I shared a bed, were
awakened by our mother coming into our room, tearfully saying, “Girls, your Daddy’s gone!”
Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I replied, “But, Mommy,” I said, “They took Daddy to the hospital tonight.”
“No, Linda. Your Daddy died tonight.”
This unwanted experience was repeated six months later, when I lost my best friend to an accidental shooting,
I was fortunate to have long-lived family members and to avoid encountering any losses until I was in my teens. My earliest awareness of the reality of death happened when I was living with my family in England. We were staying in the small village of Turweston, renting space in an elderly manor house that had been cut up into flats. I was allowed to roam the manor gardens by myself, and one day I stumbled over the body of a blackbird that was crawling with maggots. My immediate revulsion was all the more potent for being kept to myself.… Read more »
The sudden death of my forty-seven-year-old healthy, at least I thought he was, devasted me.
I had no idea what the concept of death ment as a child. We were not believers. Attended no church and just went on with life. When my schoolmate Thérèse six and her brother Marcel five, drowned on the inauguration day of their cottage by the river. I was told they went to sea by the mini- beach rented home we lived in. I simply never saw them again and so did any one else in the village. My teacher, a young woman died from a medical error that same year, I was not told. She just vanished. Decades went… Read more »