“I think my father had always been a bandaid for a lot of my...

“I think my father had always been a bandaid for a lot of my mother’s issues. She was quite insecure, but he was always reassuring her, bringing her cards and flowers, and coaxing her out of her shell. She never got back to herself after he died. She thought that anytime somebody wanted to visit with her, it was just because they wanted something or they felt bad for her. Which wasn’t true, because she was very smart and interesting. She started drinking a lot, and if we went to visit her, a lot of times she’d just be staring blankly at the TV. We found her journal after she passed away. It was hard to read. She wrote things like: ‘My life is ashes.’ And, ‘My daughter only needs me for money.’”