I Found a Small Lemon Tree

By Emilie Sandy

“The public display of grief allows each individual to access their own losses.” – Darian Leader

I lost my dad to a brain tumour. Four months later, I found my mum lifeless on her living room floor.

This book brings together photographs and diary entries recorded during my father’s illness and following the deaths of my parents. I never intended to create a book. Ten years later, however, I felt compelled to return to this period and share the raw reality of our experience. The book captures precious moments spent with my strong-willed father and my struggling mother.

It was an emotionally challenging time. My role as a daughter changed as I balanced caring for my father with supporting my mother through her own fragility. Creating the book allowed me to explore this experience of loss and grief creatively.

At the time, I had no specific purpose in mind for the images. Taken primarily on my iPhone, they offered a quick and discreet way to record our story.

Photography became my therapy, giving me a way to step momentarily outside the harshness of our reality. Alongside being a daughter and caregiver, I became a recorder of our journey.

Today, these sensitive and poignant images remind me of the importance of cherishing human connection and the traces that remain after someone has died.

Content Note: This book contains images and written references relating to illness, death and grief, which some readers may find upsetting.