Before we can really comprehend Hugh’s difficult childhood, we need to examine his parents and the circumstances of their upbringing.
Christopher John Jackman and Grace McNeil moved to Australia as part of a program that aimed to increase the country’s overall population.
They were both born in the country of England. Hugh was \ born in Australia. His parents had three elder children, all of whom were born in the United Kingdom.
After Grace and Christopher divorced in the middle of the 1970s, Grace made the decision to restart her life in a different country on her own.
Hugh characterized the interaction as being “terrible,” but he still clung to the notion that she may come back to him someday. Never did, in fact.
“It made me feel awful. I anticipated that she would most certainly return. After then, it felt like it would continue on forever. I remember her saying farewell with a towel wrapped over her head”.
He had no idea that the seemingly casual way in which she was saying goodbye had a deeper and more lasting meaning. When he got home from school, he discovered that no one was there.
The telegram that informed Hugh and the rest of the family that she was in England came at their home the very following day. He was devastated and hopeless as a result of his mother’s desertion, yet he never stopped up trying to find her.
She did not in any way indicate that she planned to get back together with him, but she did say that she would be available to him “once a year.”
After giving birth to Hugh, Grace struggled with postpartum depression, which ultimately led to her decision to leave. Hugh said that she had chosen the wisest and most freeing decision for herself when she chose to reside outside of Australia since “there wasn’t a support network for her” in Australia.
It is without a doubt a challenging choice, but looking at it from the point of view of an adult, it is also reasonable. Hugh arrived to the same conclusion after getting in touch with her as an adult, understanding the circumstances of her experience in more depth, and reestablishing their relationship.
Despite the fact that Hugh’s years of suffering did not come to an end immediately after the discovery, he was able to grasp the abandonment and give the tragedy new value because of it.
As a direct consequence of this, he and Grace were able to repair their relationship and go on with their lives.