Ten seconds before my father's death, I have a premonition - that the breath he is taking will be his last.

William Leith's childhood was marked by his father's absences and as a consequence their relationship has always been a troubled one. Now, as his father lies dying, William reflects on the connections and ruptures that have marked their shared history. Can he ever really understand his father? Is there an explanation for the physical distance and emotional chasm that his father has maintained between them? And what was he running away from?

Darkly comical and told with searing honesty, The Cut that Wouldn't Heal is a moving memoir about the pain of abandonment, grief and regret.