Donna Morrissey and her four siblings were reminiscing one evening over drinks when she had a profound realization. Growing up in Newfoundland, Morrissey and her sisters predominantly spent time indoors with their mother, while her brothers engaged in outdoor activities with their father. This pattern persisted into adulthood, and during their family gatherings, as her brothers shared stories about their late father, Morrissey discovered a side of him she was unaware of.
From this introspective evening, Morrissey’s latest book emerged, titled “Tell It to the Water: Five Siblings Tell of Their Father’s Grief and His Struggle Back to Hope.” While the focal point of the book revolves around Morrissey’s father coping with his wife’s passing due to cancer, it also delves into other tragic events, such as the loss of Morrissey’s brother, Ford, in a workplace accident four decades ago.
Reflecting on the process, Morrissey expressed how writing a memoir like this, unlike her usual fictional works, exposed her to raw emotions that even brought tears. Despite drawing inspiration from personal experiences for her fictional stories, she found it challenging to create characters that could convey the depth of these real-life accounts.
The narrative unfolds through chapters narrated from the viewpoints of Morrissey and her siblings, with each chapter explicitly identifying the perspective. Crafting the stories for publication involved numerous discussions between Morrissey and her siblings, prompting detailed questions to capture the essence of their emotions during various events.
Although tensions briefly arose among the siblings, who are known to argue frequently but quickly reconcile without holding grudges, Morrissey emphasized that the book has strengthened the bond among them. She highlighted that the family’s tragedies, now documented in the memoir, continue to impact their lives, underscoring the ongoing nature of their shared stories.
In the context of grief psychology, Dr. Simon Sherry, a practicing psychologist at Crux Psychology in Halifax, discussed the enduring connection people maintain with their deceased loved ones, emphasizing the evolving nature of these relationships over time.
Morrissey expressed her desire for the book to prompt readers to reflect on their own family dynamics and provide a framework for those seeking to document their family history. She noted that despite the passage of time, the family’s hardships have brought them closer together, fostering a sense of preciousness and vulnerability that binds them as they navigate the ongoing chapters of their lives.