Difficult but revealing task
When parents die, it’s often left to the children to clear their home of all their belongings. What do you do with the china, the clothes, and the furniture, particularly if they are old-fashioned and you don’t want to keep them? If you do want to keep those things, how do you decide which relative should have them?
Sometimes, in the process of clearing your parents’ house, you discover things about them you didn’t already know. There can be letters or diaries revealing intimate aspects of their lives. And the whole thing can also raise the question of why we are so keen, in our materialist world, to accumulate so many possessions?
Jenni is joined by Jane Miller, former academic and author, and by Linda Grant, prizewinning novelist and author of "Still Here", which contains, like Jane Miller's book, a passage about clearing out your parents’ house.
"The Final Reminder: How I Emptied My Parent's House" by Lydia Flem, ISBN: 0285637347
"Relations" by Jane Miller, ISBN: 0-224-06391-X
"Still here" by Linda Grant, ISBN: 0316859931
Disclaimer
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites. |
