“No, Dad’s dead,” we said in pain. All of a sudden he lost his strength and sat down.
A couple of days later we went to see Dad’s body. I wanted to see him but somehow I didn’t
want to. I was scared of someone I had loved for eight years. Why? I thought to myself. Was I scared
he was going to come alive or was I angry? I wanted to see him. It was hard to bring myself to do
it. But I ended up seeing him. He seemed stressed. I was happy to see him but I was also angry to see
him.
A couple of days later we went to dad’s funeral. I was crying the whole time. Mum did a speech
but it seemed too hard (it would be for me, if you asked me). We went in a limousine to Dad’s fu-
neral and to Dad’s grave. It was so depressing seeing Dad get buried. I never thought that Dad would
die. Proves what I know.
When we were walking out of the church, Mrs. Parker, one of my old teachers gave us each a
little bear. I was so depressed. Because of all my family had done together, we were like best friends.
After the funeral we invited lots of people to celebrate what a great person Dad was.
I couldn’t get to sleep for three weeks. I took two terms off school. For years I wondered if it was
my fault until one day Mum told me that it wasn’t my fault.
STORY 97
MY LIFE STORY
(contributed by Oliver Potts)Therapeutic Characteristics
Problems Addressed
■ Parental violence
■ Hatred of a parent
■ Feeling hurtResources Developed
■ Learning to enjoy the positives
■ Taking responsibility for your emotional well-being
■ Being self-protective
■ Being self-assertive
■ Making decisions... for nowOutcomes Offered
■ Self-protection
■ Self-assertion
■ Skills in decision making
It all started when I was two and my father started hurting my mum. I remember this one time
I was having a nap and I was woken by a loud bang down stairs. I got out of my bed and went down
KIDS’ OWN STORIESKids’ Own Healing Stories 221