It helps to see this exists. Great line whoever said that. Apart from that ego trip, thoughtful and persuasive as always. I can't wait for your memoir to be published!
I really enjoyed this piece Laura - I’ve always been fascinated by ideas of belonging and identity and home, and how these can change over time almost without us noticing. There’s a Welsh word that fits the sense of dislocation and longing you write about - hiraeth, which is a home sickness for a place or a time that’s gone. I moved to the North East 20 years ago, so it feels both like home and not.
Longing. And being. Both so elusive to describe, but together so easy to understand. And yet, always and ever just out of reach for many of us.
I know, for instance, where I’m from, and where I am now, but I still have no idea where I belong. And, most probably, never will.
Thanks for this lovely piece, Laura.
Thanks, Mark. I hope you find some peace even if you don’t find definitive answers 💖
It helps to see this exists. Great line whoever said that. Apart from that ego trip, thoughtful and persuasive as always. I can't wait for your memoir to be published!
Someone very wise said it 😆 thank you, as always, for everything xx
I’d completely forgotten how growing up in the late 70s and through the 80s just how racist we were about the Irish. Yuck. 🤮
Liked this but obviously I don’t LIKE it (but I do appreciate the comment!) xx
Indeed. The remembrance of those days brought a palpable shiver all over. Yuck.
I really enjoyed this piece Laura - I’ve always been fascinated by ideas of belonging and identity and home, and how these can change over time almost without us noticing. There’s a Welsh word that fits the sense of dislocation and longing you write about - hiraeth, which is a home sickness for a place or a time that’s gone. I moved to the North East 20 years ago, so it feels both like home and not.
Thank you, Ellen 💖 “homesick for a place or time that’s gone” - love that. Need that word in my life!