The most difficult day of the year

In films or news items trivializing the deaths of hundreds of people, the passing of one person seems almost inconsequential. But it never is.

Andrew Caddell, right, and son James, in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1998. In the lead-up to the anniversary of his son’s death, Caddell writes that if you know someone who has suffered a loss at any time of their lives, be gentle with them. Photograph courtesy of Andrew Caddell

Opinion

BY ANDREW CADDELL

October 11, 2023

KAMOURASKA, QUE.—I can still remember the 5:30 a.m. call here in Kamouraska, the words “James … has died.” The sobbing on the phone, the rain outside. The calls to family, to Bolivia, the race to Ottawa to tell his sister. The searing heartache.

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