I started it when my daughter was about 6 months old. She and I took a walk one sunny afternoon through some fields near our house. It had rained recently and the normally easy path was muddy and overgrown with weeds and thistles. I had to hold her over my head in places so she wouldn’t get scratched. In the distance, I could hear what sounded like a big dog barking and it got me thinking about this story.
Being a new parent is strange. Having a small new life who is totally reliant on you really got me thinking about death rather a lot. My death, my daughter’s death, my son’s death, my wife’s death: Death. DEATH. I’d obsess about it. I still do to a certain extent, even though my kids are now far more independent. It is both terrifying and wonderful being a parent.
Carry Me is a story about death and coming to terms with the inevitability of it all. It was drawn in about 3 weeks. I set myself rules - no planning beyond writing down a brief synopsis, no penciling, no correcting mistakes, just jumping straight into my sketchbook with ink and watercolour.
Since the book was published I’ve met people who have suffered bereavement, a miscarriage or the death of a child who have said that reading Carry Me helped them in some way. This completely kicks all the air out of me.
If you’d like to do a good thing after reading this, please consider donating something to Severn Hospice. They looked after a friend of mine last year who left behind a daughter about the same age as my own.
4 comments
Wow. Just… wow. As a parent, it totally hits home. And there’s something to be said for creating without overthinking.
This was incredible. Thank you so much.
Geez Dan, that got me quite choked up. Finding that happens quite a lot more since my boys came along… What a lovely little piece. Thank you for sharing. How much have you been selling this for? I’d like to donate the price to the hospice.
Omg such a touching story about bereavement. The feeling flows through it. Thank you for this.