Stories
Charles Henry
“Knowing death at such a young age amplifies the importance of everything.”
Charles Henry’s mother died at home from cancer when he was fourteen. While his mother’s death made him more independent, he wonders if the converse is also true – that the welcome continued support of her friends conditioned him to look to others for guidance.
Nick Bollinger
“Dad talked to me from the moment I opened my eyes, and I can remember conversations all through those sixteen years with him.”
Nick Bollinger’s dad was known to many as a wise and kind man before he died when Nick was sixteen. The writer and broadcaster reckons he’d still be doing what he does had his father lived, but he would have found his way much sooner.
Catherine Peters
“All I wanted was for everyone to be together … that’s probably my greatest sadness.”
Her father’s fatal heart attack when Catherine Peters was sixteen had many immediate and obvious impacts on her family. Decades later, it’s perhaps the impact on her relationships with her sisters that is her biggest and most lasting sadness.
Michael Huddleston
“He just seemed impregnable. If there is an end that’s inevitable, be honest about it and discuss it.”
Michael Huddleston lives with a heart condition that’s possibly the same one that killed his father when Michael was only fifteen. Now a father of two, he’s determined to have more time with his own children than his dad did with him.