Father – “a horse”
My father only looked at his daughters in the eyes when he had enough alcohol in the system. One game he liked to play with us when he had enough […]
Father – in the evening
When my father came home from work, he’d start drinking immediately—beer with dinner, then sake or whiskey with TV. He liked to watch Hollywood action films on our only TV […]
Father – in the morning
I had only known my father at home. In the morning, he’d get up 2 hours after my mother, who had already done laundry, mopping, cooking breakfast, and packing bento […]
Father – a photo
There is a photo of me, my sister and my father, taken by the lake. I was about two or three years old, my sister six or seven. We were […]
Father – portrayal
There was the time I recreated my father in the narrative of my life to fit with my values and personality I wished to portray to the world. I was […]
Mother – “far ahead”
When I lived in London and was having another bout of depression, I asked my mother if she ever cared about my health or my work. Neither of my parents […]
Mother – in Hawaii
For my 37th birthday, I had my parents fly to Honolulu for a vacation. The trip had been in our mind ever since I moved from Europe to the U.S. […]
Mother – reading time
The memories with my mother I cherish is when she read for me in bed. She was generous about purchasing the quality collection of picture books. She was great at […]
Mother – grief
My mother’s father passed away when I was 15 years old. Two years before his death, he was hit by a truck when he cycled home from the rice shop. […]
Mother – anger
My mother rarely raised her voice at us or physically punished us. But on those rare occasions that she became angry, her anger was often abrupt, explosive, and unpredictable. She […]