As anyone who has ever experienced tragedy knows, in the aftermath there are always a variety of ways to respond. For some people, the best thing they know to do is write.
Videos by InspireMore
Remember the father who wrote this beautiful letter to the man who killed his son? How about the 8th grade girl who wrote this heart-wrenching letter right after both of her parents died in a plane crash? These individuals stunned us with their honesty and wisdom, and now a woman all the way in South Australia is helping a grieving mother in Ireland to heal after the death of a young man.
The Irish mother is named Janet Durkan. In 2012, Janet’s life was turned upside-down when her 22-year-old son, Alan, suddenly died in a car crash in South Australia.
Alan had been travelling in Australia, working on regional farms when it happened. Over the course of his travels, he had befriended many locals and formed a community with some of the people there. Among these new friends is a shop-owner in Croppa Creek named Caroline.
When Alan died, Caroline’s heart went out to Janet, even though she had never met the woman. So she sent a letter across the ocean to the grieving mother, telling her to be proud of her son.
Her letter is below:
Dear Mrs Durkan and Family,
It is with deep, deep sympathy that I write to you. My name is Caroline and my husband and I run the General Store in Croppa Creek. We are very sorry about the loss of your son Alan. He was a treasure. We came to know Alan when he came to work in our community last year. He came at a time when we had a large number of travellers and backpackers.
We had many Irish but amongst them Alan was special. He was kind, he was thoughtful and he was always bright and chirpy. He used to come into our store and say ‘You alright Caroline? You been busy today?’ Every time he was the same. He seemed to love his visits to our little store and we’d make him a sandwich or burger for his lunch box, full of eagerness for the day’s work ahead.
If rain was coming and forecast there was a sense of disappointment. ‘No work if it’s raining’ he’d say. There was no doubt he wanted to work.
He also reflected about the downturn in Ireland when he first came to Croppa Creek. We’d heard it many times from other travellers but Alan brought a personal view. It was heartfelt. It was clear that his trip to Australia was a time to blossom and shine as a young man. He was infectious in his humour.
My family and I became very attached to these youngsters. I took on a role as pseudo-mum keeping them on the semi-straight and narrow but encouraging them to enjoy their time too. Please know that we looked out for Alan and he made some very close friends in this district.
This might not be in your mind now but if you ever choose to retrace Alan’s steps and visit the places abroad that he experienced you are always welcome in our home. We welcome you.
You should be very proud of your boy.
Love, Caroline
Caroline’s words moved Janet. “It was so lovely,” said Janet of Caroline’s letter. “It melted my heart completely when she said ‘you should be very proud of your boy.’ I loved that line. She got Alan. That was exactly him.”
In fact, Caroline’s letter had such an impact, that Janet and her husband decided to take Caroline up on her offer to house them.
“We had to go to the area where the crash happened. We had to go and that was in our minds.” said Janet.
On the one year anniversary of Alan’s death, Janet and her husband flew to Australia to retrace their son’s final steps. Caroline and her husband were waiting to greet them.
“Those people drove for six hours to collect us in Brisbane and drove us to their home and we stayed two nights with them,” said Janet. “They drove us back again to Brisbane. They were remarkable people.”
Share this beautiful story of kindness today.
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