People - Contemplating my Mortality

I was 8 years old when my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer and hospitalized for a month for surgery and post-surgical complications. I worried that she might die and leave me motherless. I also worried that her cancer might be contagious and that I might very well catch it and die as well. I had no one to talk with about my fears. My father was preoccupied with my mother’s illness while...