Gosh, what a moving article by Gaby Hinsliff (Losing a parent is a bewildering, lonely experience. Here are the things I wish I had known before, 5 September). It brought back so many memories of my mother dying, even though it was over 50 years ago. She, too, like Gaby’s mother, died of a then-unknown cancer that ravaged her body and which made her almost unrecognisable. A small army of neighbours and our family helped nurse her until she passed away at home. So definitely, Gaby, you are not alone.
Afterwards, mourning can be a difficult and, at times, a very distressing process. It took me several years before I could even talk about my mum’s death, but eventually, as they say, time is a great healer and I learned to be able to talk about what a wonderful and utterly supportive mother she had been.
Bob Dawson
Greenmount, Greater Manchester
