I’m deeply saddened to read Neil Gaiman’s journal and learn of his dreadful loss; his father passed away very suddenly, just before he was about to appear at a book event (which he made himself go through, saying it helped him a bit). Losing someone you love is without a doubt the hardest thing in life to endure, but losing someone unexpectedly adds in an extra layer of shock and unreality, as I’m afraid to say I learned in the hardest way myself just a few months ago. It breaks all the emotional armour we normally wear to protect ourselves from the slings and arrows of day to day life and wounds us in a way that never really heals; lend your best thoughts to Neil.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:02 am
Neil’s dad gave me my first job when I was 11 (c.1980), packing vitamins in his health-supplement shop. Sadness.