25th May

This is not the happiest day in our home, since it is the anniversary of my Dad's death. Maybe that's why it's a good time to start a blog? Or maybe this will be a venture that doesn't go far. Time will tell.

We went to the crematorium today and read the Remembrance entry in Dad's memory. My Mum wrote it and it isn't what I would have said, but nonetheless it was a teary moment. The picture shows Dad, with Mum and me, when I graduated college a few years ago. I was so full of myself then that I can't even tell you now whether I really appreciated having them both with me or not. I surely wish there were both still here now.

I'm thinking about Dad a lot at the moment, because of the anniversary, but also because of some other things going on right now. I have a little book coming out in a month or so, and it is dedicated to his memory. The book is about another part of my life altogether, so has little to do with Dad, except that he was sick whilst my friend and I were working on it, so he became a part of the process, in a major way.

The book is an attempt to write about the rape crisis movement here in England and I'm not sure right now how well it will go down. Will anyone read it and if so, will they be generous? There is something rather daunting about going into print in this way, so perhaps that is part of the reason for writing this blog. Here's another publication, a way of trying out the process maybe?

I wonder if there is a way to spell-check these things before they go up? If not, and if I do keep writing it is only a matter of time, as I am such a scrappy reviewer!