
“A Welsh Childhood” by Alice Thomas Ellis is a nostalgic book that recollects her childhood and her years of raising her own children in Wales. It is filled with beautiful black and white photographs of Wales and of course Ellis’ sharp wit. I love Alice Thomas Ellis’ Sense of humor but my favorite part was when she wrote of her grief.
“We were living here when our second son, Joshua, died, and his death formed a hinge in existence. Everything that happened before led up to it, and everything that has happened since is only afterwards. He lies in the graveyard across the fields and one day I shall lie besides him, and it won’t matter anymore. I do not know how people contain such pain. His father wrote this epitaph for him.
Joshus Haycraft
Who died 21 May 1978
Aged nineteen years
After a fall
Joshua,
For whom the sun
Did not stand still,
But as you fell headlong
So set for you,
As suns return
You too, most sweet beloved,
Will return
And in the name of him
Whose name is yours
Rise again. “
My younger brother died at 12 falling from a tree and my older brother wrote an Epitaph that is on his gravestone. The loss of my brother is still with me just as she describes – a hinge. I saw my parents ruined with grief and wondered the same, how could they contain such pain? How can anyone?
– Mrs. Karl T. Cooper, Jr.