Sweet Grief

Sweet Grief is an autobiographical, experimental and fragmented account of the writer’s final months with her father. The narrative is centred around a shared food ritual—eating millefeuille—which becomes almost impossible after her father experiences a stroke. The piece is anchored by the human ne...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sian Supski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UTS ePRESS 2024-01-01
Series:PORTAL: Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/portal/article/view/8808
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author Sian Supski
author_facet Sian Supski
author_sort Sian Supski
collection DOAJ
description Sweet Grief is an autobiographical, experimental and fragmented account of the writer’s final months with her father. The narrative is centred around a shared food ritual—eating millefeuille—which becomes almost impossible after her father experiences a stroke. The piece is anchored by the human need to swallow. It draws together food, family, memory, grief, love, a global pandemic and the impact of bureaucratic decision-making. This reflection is multi-layered, like the millefeuille. Her father’s stroke occurred during the COVID pandemic when Western Australia effectively closed its border for 697 days, requiring the author to quarantine, twice. It explores the ‘messy’ emotions around food when a loved one must learn to swallow again and portrays the way in which food plays a ‘sticky’ role in familial relationships.
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spelling doaj.art-a73c7be67291422197cf7b237cb1feb72024-01-18T04:48:12ZengUTS ePRESSPORTAL: Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies1449-24902024-01-01191-210.5130/pjmis.v19i1-2.8808Sweet GriefSian Supski0{'en_US': 'La Trobe University'} Sweet Grief is an autobiographical, experimental and fragmented account of the writer’s final months with her father. The narrative is centred around a shared food ritual—eating millefeuille—which becomes almost impossible after her father experiences a stroke. The piece is anchored by the human need to swallow. It draws together food, family, memory, grief, love, a global pandemic and the impact of bureaucratic decision-making. This reflection is multi-layered, like the millefeuille. Her father’s stroke occurred during the COVID pandemic when Western Australia effectively closed its border for 697 days, requiring the author to quarantine, twice. It explores the ‘messy’ emotions around food when a loved one must learn to swallow again and portrays the way in which food plays a ‘sticky’ role in familial relationships. https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/portal/article/view/8808SwallowMillefeuilleFatherCOVID-19StrokeMessy
spellingShingle Sian Supski
Sweet Grief
PORTAL: Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies
Swallow
Millefeuille
Father
COVID-19
Stroke
Messy
title Sweet Grief
title_full Sweet Grief
title_fullStr Sweet Grief
title_full_unstemmed Sweet Grief
title_short Sweet Grief
title_sort sweet grief
topic Swallow
Millefeuille
Father
COVID-19
Stroke
Messy
url https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/portal/article/view/8808
work_keys_str_mv AT siansupski sweetgrief