You hoped it would be different, a second chance. You’d sit by your mom, hold her frail hand and apologize. Tell your father that in spite of everything he was a good dad. Embrace your sister, joke with your brothers. Explain to your ex-husband so this time he’d finally understand.

Marilyn McFarlane is a travel writer and the author of Sacred Stories: Wisdom From World Religions. She writes poetry and fiction and occasionally explores memoir. She lives in Oregon, where there is a lot of scope for the imagination.