| |  | | Jo with her dogs, Benji and Scamp |
| |  | | Jo is now a tutor for the BBC Learning Zone |
| |
After Mum
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Eight years ago, Jo-anne Mason's mother died after a long illness. Unbelievably, her partner Frank's mother died without warning the same day. This double blow had a crippling effect on their relationship.
It was all so unexpected they found they that they were unable to cry on each others shoulders. It was just too hard to cope with the two sides of their grief.
Frank inherited his mother's home and went to live there by himself. He retired into himself and became a recluse.
Jo found herself alone, left her job and descended into the black void of depression. But after hearing Gorecki's Symphony No 3, she felt she had permission from her mum to move on with her life.
At first she walked miles and miles with her dogs, and set up an allotment, which helped her get back in touch with the living world.
Later she retrained as a teacher, learned about computers and now works for the BBC Learning Zone.
Frank returned after 4 months, but they both know that their relationship has been affected by their mothers dying on the same day.
Gorecki's Symphony No 3, performed by Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta
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