This one is a labor of love. It's loosely based on a true story about an elderly couple from my home town, who both got sick and who both received incredible care from the same hospice who took care of my Dad for the last two years of his life.
Here's the original article that was published last year. After reading it, I felt compelled to write a short story about it. Somewhere along the way, as all of the characters introduced themselves, I realized that I was actually writing a novel.
Here's the overview:
Holding On is a quiet, emotionally resonant novel about a family keeping vigil in the hospice where Ralph and Lily live out their final days together. Rachel carries the burden of caregiving, David stumbles back into presence after years of absence, and Emma begins to find her own voice in the quiet spaces left between them.
The story traces how fractures form and heal—lateness, anger, overheard words, apologies—and how memory becomes inheritance through objects, rituals, and gestures. From Lily’s marmalade jar to Emma’s journal, each small detail holds the weight of grief and the possibility of repair. At its heart, Holding On is about the fragile ways love endures, not by avoiding loss, but by staying with it.
Honestly this was super Awesome can't wait for the next part Robert 😊
Many thanks, Bethel.
This one is a labor of love. It's loosely based on a true story about an elderly couple from my home town, who both got sick and who both received incredible care from the same hospice who took care of my Dad for the last two years of his life.
I'll love to talk more on this if you don't mind.
Here's the original article that was published last year. After reading it, I felt compelled to write a short story about it. Somewhere along the way, as all of the characters introduced themselves, I realized that I was actually writing a novel.
Here's the overview:
Holding On is a quiet, emotionally resonant novel about a family keeping vigil in the hospice where Ralph and Lily live out their final days together. Rachel carries the burden of caregiving, David stumbles back into presence after years of absence, and Emma begins to find her own voice in the quiet spaces left between them.
The story traces how fractures form and heal—lateness, anger, overheard words, apologies—and how memory becomes inheritance through objects, rituals, and gestures. From Lily’s marmalade jar to Emma’s journal, each small detail holds the weight of grief and the possibility of repair. At its heart, Holding On is about the fragile ways love endures, not by avoiding loss, but by staying with it.
Ohh 😯 really this is getting more interesting Robert.