Chapter 16: From Regret to Reconciliation
I have my share of regret and I imagine you do too. Regret feels sad and bad. Regret speaks of loss and missed opportunity. Regret is a type of grief, mourning what might have been. Regret comes to those who disappoint themselves, who feel they have offended God, and whose trust in others was misplaced. Regret can lurk beneath the surface, hidden or camouflaged under a façade of normalcy. If not resolved, regret can become an unbearable load. In my experience, no one talks much about their own regrets outside the therapist’s office or until one’s own death or the death of a loved one looms. Dr. Douglas H. Todd, my brother, died on January 13, 2015 at age 56, leaving his wife and two children ages eighteen and sixteen. Doug spent his last five years in a desperate attempt to keep living. The last two years could better be described as a desperate attempt just trying not to die. At diagnoses in November ...