I recently received this very thoughtful article by Booker Prize winner Juliet Rix from a friend of my parents. The last few paragraphs really stood out.
In one of the paras:
One of the greatest gifts my father gave me — unintentionally — was witnessing the courage with which he bore adversity. We had a bit of a rollercoaster life with some really challenging financial periods. He was always unshaken, completely tranquil, the same ebullient, laughing, jovial man. I learned that life will go through changes — up and down and up again. It’s what life does.
I received the same gift of witnessing courage, but from my mother. However, my father too laughed and joked no matter how bad the times, so I witnessed the gift of humour from him. These are the gifts that helped me survive in a foreign country at the age of 18, without a penny, clutching on to a roller coaster called “The Life Express”.
And the last paragraph – perhaps we stood on the same precipice and saw the same fog descend…
Father’s stash of books from London, mother’s storytelling
The Rope Before The Snake 