Magical thinking

One of the things that happens when someone you love dies is you engage in magical thinking. You look for signs to make sense of your loss and search for messages from those that passed away.

My mother's body was found on Saturday 23 November. On the same day I received the message below. I'm trying to hold on to the happiness that she felt when I read her reviews and messages from readers and how much it meant to her.

When I was interviewing her for the book she wanted it written for people to understand the toll of mental illness, and messages like this bring me comfort. I also want to believe that she in some way influenced this message arriving on this day. That she wanted to remind me about how much the book meant to her and how much happiness it brought her. Now that she is gone all I have is memories of her. These are the memories that give me solace.