Losing My Dad in Installments
May 01, 2025 at 02:08AMMariana Serapicos’ father died from ALS when she was young. For Electric Literature, Serapicos describes a childhood growing up in Brazil and recounts when her dad got very sick. In this heartfelt piece, she honors her father and writes about memory, aging, and loss.
He’d shrunk in those two years; the disease was overtaking him. And it was our job to remember how we used to be. His essence never left, and only now can I acknowledge that, because back then, it was easier to split him in two—before and after his illness. Perhaps it was more palatable to feel like I was losing him in installments; that I could say goodbye to each part as they left. Bye, legs; bye, feet; bye voice. Stalling for as much as I could, dragging my feet, like him.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2025/04/30/losing-my-dad-in-installments/
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