"Parent, Child, Lost" by Linda James

 – The doctor handed me the baton disguised as a pamphlet.

Roles that blurred and reversed now merged.

Linda James lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She is a member of the Writers Critique Group. When she was a young girl, her parents gifted her a typewriter because she expressed a strong desire to write. After only six words, Linda realized she had nothing to say and little life experience to draw upon. Decades later, she is revisiting that hasty conclusion. She is currently working on the manuscript for her first novel.

Author’s Talk

Linda James

I always thought I would write about my father as a tribute to his life, grace and courage and to the three generations of my family which lived through the difficult years of his illness. As a mother of teenagers at the time, the role of caregiver to my aging parents came as a dislocating surprise and stressful responsibility. It was also a blessed chance to return the love and support they freely gave throughout my life.  

To tell this story, I envisioned a sweeping manuscript filled with complicated family dynamics exasperated by fear and grief, the difficulties navigating medical complexities as my father’s patient advocate, and guilty tales of insufficient energy and focus for my sons and husband. 

But then came the challenge to write a story of universal impact in less than eight hundred words. 

At first, it seemed impossible to paint this picture with so few brushstrokes. 

Linda and her father in the bloom of life

However, since losing both my parents, I have witnessed other family members and friends navigate their way through this same life “crunch,” caring for parents at the same time they raise families and juggle careers. The details differ, the pain and stress do not. The shock of the role reversal reverberates within a life and across generations.  

There were a million little moments, and nearly as many emotions, behind my story. In the end, thanks to the Personal Story Publishing Project and the discipline required, only a few were needed.—Linda James