(UN)TETHERED…
The following pages contain what I often refer to as my grief journals. They began after I lost my brother to suicide in January of 2020. In the wake of his death, I had the sensation of becoming completely untethered. Adrift and disconnected to any person, place, or thing. It was a season of deep introspection and lament. Old wounds resurfaced. Things long buried came to light. And, unexpectedly, it became a time of beautiful healing.
These posts will be easiest to follow if read in chronological order.
2. The Only Woman Alive
Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here came on the radio the other day. It opens with a long and sparse guitar intro, in which a cough can be heard across one of the tracks. The sound is startling, as though someone unexpected was suddenly discovered to be in the room. More than once I’ve looked over my shoulder when hearing it. It’s what I love about the song, a reminder that this moment has been and will continue to be shared across distance and time.
1. The Tether
The tether. That thing that binds us to our families of origin, not by any desire of our own, but through the mere act of existence. We spend our lives exploring the roots of this connection, be it to an unending wellspring of love or the heavy, unshakeable burden of pain.