"I don't have the words to describe it properly, I just feel I'm in the wrong place and I don't want to be here. For the past few years, *Suzanne has travelled each year halfway around the world to visit family and close friends in her birth country. While the farewells are always hard, Suzanne usually settles back home after a few weeks, staying connected with video calls and regular messaging even when time differences made it difficult. This time, though, something felt different."
"The family met up for tea and cake, and I felt so sad not to be there. I so wanted to be with her for her birthday and more than anything to just be physically there, not calling in from halfway around the world on a phone. Then today I felt sad again because I baked a really special cake that turned out perfectly and I wanted to share it with family"
Suzanne travels yearly halfway around the world to visit family and close friends in her birth country. Farewells have always been hard, but she usually settles back at home after a few weeks and maintains contact with video calls and messages despite time differences. On a recent extended visit, she experienced overwhelming dislocation and disconnection. Longer time with family intensified rather than eased the ache, making goodbyes harder and leaving her feeling that her heart remained in the birth country. Missing ordinary moments—birthdays, casual visits, shared cakes—produced persistent grief and reduced joy in everyday activities.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]