What an amazing last sentence! I love how you guide us to deep empathy for both your father and you while acknowledging the damage mentally ill parents can do to the children they love.
What a clever title to go with a poignant essay on her father’s complicated and sad mental illness… my heart aches for the writer in what she lost, but her precious recollection of what they shared is a gain…bittersweet tribute to him. Thanks for sharing.
This brings tears to my eyes, and I can feel every ounce of pain and love in every line. Thank you, Deborah Lott for this beautiful story, and thank you to your father for inspiring and igniting the artist in you.
I envy your ability to remember so many loving details about your father. My mother suffered from mental illness and most of my memories are locked somewhere deep in my psyche. Perhaps best left there, for me. Your memories touch me deeply.
So many layers, so many complications and connections. So much love.
Thank you for reading 💓
Deborah, thank you for sharing your father with us. I can feel your big love for him.
❤️
What an amazing last sentence! I love how you guide us to deep empathy for both your father and you while acknowledging the damage mentally ill parents can do to the children they love.
Yes, exactly so 💓
Such a beautiful description of this special relationship.
What a clever title to go with a poignant essay on her father’s complicated and sad mental illness… my heart aches for the writer in what she lost, but her precious recollection of what they shared is a gain…bittersweet tribute to him. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for writing this story & distilling your experiences into the duck.
Elegantly written, deeply felt. Deborah Lott's story is both truth and beauty.
This brings tears to my eyes, and I can feel every ounce of pain and love in every line. Thank you, Deborah Lott for this beautiful story, and thank you to your father for inspiring and igniting the artist in you.
I envy your ability to remember so many loving details about your father. My mother suffered from mental illness and most of my memories are locked somewhere deep in my psyche. Perhaps best left there, for me. Your memories touch me deeply.
Your comment touches me 💓
Oh Virginia,
I didn't know that about your mom or I forgot. It's a lot to go through, isn't it. Maybe it made us writers, though.
Thank you so much for sharing this. It pulls strands of spider webs from my mind. So many complex souls I have loved and a few ducks of my own.
Heartbreakingly beautiful. The clarity is so inspirational. Just wow.