Reconceptualising Loss and Reaching for Creativity

Abstract

A mother recounted her decision a few years ago to write a set of notes for her young son, to pass on some memories that her mother had passed onto her. Mother and grandson do not speak the same language. Loss is anticipated through this act-both her mother's death and her own eventual death too. Yet loss of another kind is also being tackled: that of the loss of a shared language between one generation and the next. This private preparatory activity, which had been going on for some time, came to light through a research conversation on memory. What this first very ordinary example introduces is that people anticipate and prepare for loss. In this example, there is something quite complex about passing on a story: it must be translated into another language. Within this act is a further story, one of migration, forming one narrative inside another. This communication into the future involves being able to explain the presence of a connecting thread through the maternal line which might otherwise not be known about. It also anticipates a time when the son will be interested enough to become a bearer and holder of these stories.