Compassion, Autumn 2020

Autumn 2020 - Compassion | www.tcf.org.uk 9 those years ago, complete with a handwritten letter which I still have, and I’ve done my best to continue to run the library as best as I can throughout these very difficult months. Having said that, it was so nice to be able to get back into the library again and tackle the inevitable backlog. During the past two or three weeks, about 16 parcels have gone into the post and I think I’ve now caught up with requests from both existing and new readers. I’ve also been looking at new books and am very grateful for all the suggestions I’ve received. I’ve located a couple of very good books, written specifically to help grieving dads, and another for siblings which looks excellent and I’ll be getting those into the library very soon. I’ve been lucky enough to have received books through the post too, covering, among other things, bereavement by suicide, a mum’s letters to her daughter during the latter’s illness and death and beyond and a very nice picture book written to help children who are grieving for a sibling or parent. I’ve also bought, for myself at present, ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell which is fiction based on fact. It’s the story of the life and death of William Shakespeare’s son, who died when he was 11, but told through his mother’s eyes. I heard about it through the Hay on Wye book festival, which was free and on-line this year, and the reviewers say the author has captured the bereaved mother’s feelings very well. However the reviewers are probably not bereaved parents themselves so I’ll see what I think and pass it on to the library if I agree with them. Another major step forward for technically challenged me was being able to participate in a zoom meeting of our volunteers. I was asked to talk about the library and then choose a few books to recommend and that was so difficult, because there is so much choice. In the end I chose four, Gina Claye’s ‘Upright With Knickers On’ and Bryan Clover’s ‘Eggshells’ which are the most popular and requested books in the library at the moment, and then Gill Hartley’s ‘Aspects of Loss’ which I know a lot of readers like a great deal, as do I. My final choice, ‘A Broken Heart Still Beats’ was a bit self-indulgent, or at least I thought it was because it’s my crafty favourite. To my great surprise quite a lot of other people like it too so I’ve reviewed it for this magazine. I hadn’t looked at it for a little while and am really enjoying dipping into it again. As well as that I’ve brought home Dave Marteau’s book, also reviewed in this magazine, and am finding it fascinating. Thank goodness for all these authors who are willing to spend their time and energy writing books for us to read. To finish I have a poem from ‘A Broken Heart Still Beats’ (p251). It’s written by Sidney Lea and is the opening lines of a much longer poem. I think its message will resonate with many of us. With love from Mary Your son is seven years dead. “But it seems”, I said, seeing your face Buckle in mid-conversation As over the fields came winging the trebles Of children at holiday play – I said, “But it seems like yesterday”, “No” you said, “Like today”.