Aidan Hartley Aidan Hartley

The art of mourning well

Following Mum’s death a month ago, I have been staying quietly at her home on the beach in a whirlpool of memories

Any house on the Indian Ocean beach erodes swiftly, like a sand castle, against the onslaught of wind and ocean spray [Photo: Irfan Quader] 
issue 13 February 2021

Malindi, Kenya

I’ve learned that mourning must be tackled ever so gently. As a younger man, when friends were killed in Africa’s wars I’d become angry and drink. When Dad died I cut adrift in Yemen for a time. Following Mum’s death a month ago, I decided to stay quietly at her home on the beach.

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