You speak often of how your view of your father changed in the last year of his life, when you began to accept him and who he was. Did this help you in any way to feel as though you were closer, as well as changing the way you saw yourself?
Oh, it was alarming how I came to see my future as I cared for my father. We are so much alike, even when in conflict. But yes, ultimately I stopped trying to pressure him to cheer up and to exercise and when I let go of those things - which were my agenda not his -- I was able to see what he really needed his whole life from me - to see that I adored him as much as he adored me. That said, I still tried to convert him in his last month from his staunch Republicanism. And you know what? He renounced the party. Redemption!
