Every now and again you come across something so simple and moving that it defies definition.

On the face of it, this is a simple photo essay by photographer Philip Toledano documenting the last days of his father’s life. His father was 98 and had completely lost his short term memory.

The frank unblinking honesty in both the text and the photographs transforms what could have been sentimental fluff into something with a much deeper meaning for all of us.

You can’t help wincing slightly when Philip writes, “He says its time for him to go, that he’s been around too long. It’s odd, because part of me wants him to go too”, and as he described his father’s inability to comprehend his wife’s death I was reminded of my own father when he awoke from heart surgery, having suffered a massive stroke during the operation. When he asked for my mother and was told that she had died several years ago he responded simply, “Oh, bugger!”.

Please take a look – I hope you find it as moving as I did.

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