How to become a writer by Lorrie Moore

How to Get Over the Loss of Your Mum

It is the unspoken truth that we all know and understand that on a particular day, the phone will ring and the person on the other end will have the unfortunate news. The natural order of the human culture and the certainty of death is an event that will one day rock your world to shatters. In spite of all this, nothing prepares you on how to deal with the death of your parent except your mindset and the loved ones around you. Interactions with friends will always be awkward when they unconsciously speak about their mums around you. One will blurt out, “I am going on a shopping spree this weekend with my mum” or “You cannot believe what my mum was telling over the phone yesterday...” The silly ones that you would want to punch in the throat, “I hate my mum, you can’t believe she…” You know it is not their fault, its that the universe favored you, and you no longer live in the glass houses that they exist in. You feel sorry for them, for their worlds are so fragile. I used to envy them, but nowadays I have come to the acceptance that they are just a call away from receiving the most tragic heartbreak in one’s life, losing your mother.

On that day, the school drama club is planning the end of the year and you were invited to the meeting by one of your popular friends. During the meeting, my phone came to life, and on the screen it showed that my sister was calling.