Tall Again: a Multigenre Project about Life, Loyalty, and Love
Written in memory of Richard Reeve Wood, Jr.
by Hannah Burroughs
Dear Readers,
I began this project with an interest in exploring memories and places surrounding my father in law, Richard Wood, in his final days: his house in Monroe, the nursing home, the ICU after he broke his hip, and the hospice where he spent his final week. But as I began to write, I realized that everything relating to those memories had just as much to do with my husband, Reeve. Within the whirlwind of the last five years, we have returned to Maine, had two sons, and lost Reeve's father. This project turned into a meditation on our marriage as well as my remembrances of Richard's final years.
I am very surprised by how personal this project became. It took me on fact-checking missions through photo albums and emails and letters of condolence. Within one afternoon holed up in front of the wood stove, I wept (while writing "marriage vows") and laughed wickedly (while writing "The Dementia Times").
After I wrote the thank you letter to Hospice House, I realized that "Tall Again" is a theme that binds many of the pieces. I decided to bookend my ten genres with Tall Again, Part I and Tall Again, Part II.
Thank you for reading. It is both strange and thrilling to be sharing this writing with others.
Hannah Burroughs
I began this project with an interest in exploring memories and places surrounding my father in law, Richard Wood, in his final days: his house in Monroe, the nursing home, the ICU after he broke his hip, and the hospice where he spent his final week. But as I began to write, I realized that everything relating to those memories had just as much to do with my husband, Reeve. Within the whirlwind of the last five years, we have returned to Maine, had two sons, and lost Reeve's father. This project turned into a meditation on our marriage as well as my remembrances of Richard's final years.
I am very surprised by how personal this project became. It took me on fact-checking missions through photo albums and emails and letters of condolence. Within one afternoon holed up in front of the wood stove, I wept (while writing "marriage vows") and laughed wickedly (while writing "The Dementia Times").
After I wrote the thank you letter to Hospice House, I realized that "Tall Again" is a theme that binds many of the pieces. I decided to bookend my ten genres with Tall Again, Part I and Tall Again, Part II.
Thank you for reading. It is both strange and thrilling to be sharing this writing with others.
Hannah Burroughs