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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
John Crace

Digested week: Mum, Dad, Barry and Herbie the dog – the list of talking dead grows ever longer

John Crace and Herbie in 2012.
John Crace and Herbie in 2012. It’s way too soon to think about getting another dog. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

Monday

Of late, I’ve been spending a lot of time talking to the dead. Or, to be more accurate, talking at them. The dead tend not to say much in reply. I haven’t been seeing a medium. I find myself starting conversations with my mum. Mostly the ones we never had or never finished. Not just the ones that her Alzheimer’s prevented us from having but the ones that were too difficult for us to have when she was not anxious, disturbed or confused.

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