The Restory Retreat Centre

My father, soon after a visit from the angels.  I have not seen him so collected and relaxed in a long time.  Not long ago a dear friend went through the worst experience a mother can ever face: the terminal illness and death of a child. It came too close for comfort and I was terrified for her sake and my own. I did not know how to help so I shied away. I felt my words would be useless as comfort and my visits inappropriate or awkward.      How to help? Going through this difficult time with my father, I find that our friends and family experience the same feelings of uselessness. I do not have a ready answer. Maybe one could ask: what is needed and see what one’s own circumstances allow you to offer.      In our close family circle we have members living very far away. They help financially and also manage my father’s finances. They keep encouraging us and try to look for a solution with us. They offer their opinions and concerns honestly...

My father on his 78th birthday A well kept body doesn't die easily. Even if its inhabitant wants to. My father turned 78 on the 7th of March. In all his life, he had never smoked, hardly took any alcohol, worked physically hard as an electrician and was morally a saint.      He has been suffering from a severe depression for the past ten years since my mother's death. Her fight against cancer lasted almost twelve years.In all probability, looking back, my father may have been suffering from depression since his father walked out on the family when he was only three years old. Back in 1939, divorce was the exception to the rule. My grandmother managed to raise three children by sheer will fuelled by bitterness that kept her going right up till her death at the age of 84.      All through our childhood years we suffered the consequences of my father's dysfunctional upbringing. He tried his best, I'm sure, but he wasn't equipped for fatherhood and lacked ...