A mother’s unflinching account of finding meaning in her son’s unexpected death
ne day, Liz Jensen’s son, Raphaël, meets death in the garden. It’s a bird: a great tit that he picks up and brings inside. ‘‘I found a sleeping bird,’’ he says to his mother, who explains that this particular bird will not be waking up. They dig a hole for it and hold a funeral. “Not a bird any more, we tell him. Underground, it will rot and magic into something else. But this makes no sense to him. He puts snail shells on the little grave and howls.
In Your Wild and Precious Life, Jensen asks: what transformation can take place, in the midst of “a misery that approaches madness”? She is a novelist, someone for whom “words metabolise thought”, and so on the plane, flying to see her son’s body, she writes a sort of prayer, or spell: “Raph, you are a force of nature, and now you are one with that force.
After he dies, Jensen begins hearing her son’s voice, offering comfort. She sees him too: sometimes tiny, sometimes large as life Jensen’s awakening begins with birds. There’s the bird that appears near the site of Raphaël’s death when Jensen shouts his name, “a small bird with a theatrically long tail … exactly the colour of Raph’s long russet braid”; the blue-breasted seabird that swoops for her as she swims; there are great tits in various guises. Jensen comes to see these animals as signs that her son is near; signs that, after death, things really do magic into something else.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Taking Stock of City Life: Factors that Determine Quality of LifeA series of articles explores factors that determine quality of life in the city, including weather, natural environment, open space, physical activity, social connections, relationships, and access to jobs and education. The series includes 11,258 words, graphs, tables, maps, photos, and cover art. It focuses on the here-and-now, avoids politics and future changes, and includes subjective and locally relevant accounts. Readers are encouraged to provide feedback for improvement.
Read more »
Traveller Letters: My precious possession disappeared at airport security“When I realised what had happened and went back to the conveyor belt, I was met with ‘I don’t understand English’ and blank looks.”
Read more »
Traveller Letters: My precious possession disappeared at airport security“When I realised what had happened and went back to the conveyor belt, I was met with ‘I don’t understand English’ and blank looks.”
Read more »
Traveller Letters: My precious possession disappeared at airport security“When I realised what had happened and went back to the conveyor belt, I was met with ‘I don’t understand English’ and blank looks.”
Read more »
Taylor Swift's Sydney show delayed due to wild weatherThe start of Taylor Swift’s first Sydney show at Accor Stadium was pushed back by at least half an hour as wild weather hit the city. Rain, thunder and lighting swept across Sydney early Friday evening, with fans unable to take their seats due to storm warnings.
Read more »
Wild requests, outrageous prices: Why we could be saying goodbye to room serviceA shower, bathrobe, dial up room service, and theatrical lifting of the cloche is my idea of heaven. But hotel room service is in steady decline.
Read more »