美国国家公共电台 NPR--Daughter starts checking off things on her deceased father's bucket list（在线收听）

Daughter starts checking off things on her deceased father's bucket list

Transcript

Thirteen years after Laura Carney's dad died, she found out about his list: Things I would like to do before I die. There were 60 items on the list, but only 5 were checked off. She got to work.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Laura Carney was 25 when she heard the news. A distracted driver in Limerick, Pa., struck and killed her father. It happened almost two decades ago.

LAURA CARNEY: It's very, very hard to move past that moment in your head. And I couldn't move past it for many years. And it made it so that it was very painful to think about my dad.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Then a discovery gave her a chance to think of him in a different way. A few years ago, her brother found a list among their dad's belongings.

INSKEEP: It was titled "Things I Would Like to Do Before I Die." And Carney instantly knew she had to finish it for him.

CARNEY: It was really a gut decision. It happened in an instant in my heart. I felt, this is something I'm supposed to be doing.

FADEL: The list had 60 items and only five checked off. Her father had been a writer, musician and salesman. And the list reflected his varied interests. Plant a watermelon. Own a wine cellar. Correspond with the pope. Laura Carney started doing these things even though it took six years.

CARNEY: I've become a person now who really likes to encourage people to try hard things.

FADEL: Last month, she checked off the last item, record five songs.

CARNEY: (Singing) Someday, we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me.

It was emotional for me because my dad was a singer. And I chose the songs that I most associated with him. But at the same time, it felt really fulfilling that I could have a way to celebrate that.

INSKEEP: She says finishing the list honored her dad and also helped her.

CARNEY: In that way, I've taken something and, like an alchemist, I've been able to spin it into gold.

FADEL: In the end, Carney checked something off her own bucket list, writing a book. "My Father's List" is due out in July.

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