This book is a memorial and an acknowledgment of the loss of artist Jane McKay's father Michael McKay and the presence that lingers after the end of a complicated relationship. Michael was a mental ill alcoholic who left behind a lot of complex emotions, trauma unhealed, frayed edges, open wounds, his presence and his absence both scathing. Grief is complex and difficult, but there is something layered about the experience of grief in the context of losing someone you hate, someone who used to be everything to you. It's bittersweet, horrible and sits heavy in the stomach. But there is healing to be done, memories that can be brought out of the closet and dusted off, hatred for who someone became can wane into missing who they used to be, and you can begin to heal, begin to mourn, begin to move on, even with a spirit sitting on your shoulder, a new box in the backseat.
https://linktr.ee/Harpsflame 2021