Sixteen years ago, Eileen Doyle’s husband, an
engineer, took his four children up for an early morning cup of
tea, packing a small case and was never seen or heard of again.
62. ______ Eileen was astonished and in a state of
desperate. They 63.
______ had been a happy family and, as far as she knew, there had been
something wrong with their marriage.
64. ______ Every day of
the year a small group of men and women quietly pack few belongings and
without so much 65.
______ as a note or a good-bye close the front door for the last time,
leaving off their debts, their worries and their confused
66. ______ families behind them. Last year, more than
1,200 men and nearly as many women were reporting missing from home--the
highest in 67. ______ 15
years. Many did return home within a year, but others rejected the past
completely and are now living a new life somewhere under a different
identity. To those left behind this form of desertion is a
terrible blow to his pride and self-confidence. Even the finality of
68. ______ death might be preferable. At least it
does not imply rejection or failure. Better than that, people can be left
with an 69. ______ unfinished
marriage, not knowing whether they will have to wait seven years before they
are free to start a fresh life. Clinical psychology Paul Brown
believes most
70. ______ departures of this kind to be well planned would
rather than 71. ______ impulsive. "It’s typical
of the kind of personality which seems able to ignore other people’s pain and
difficulties. Running away, like killing yourself, is a highly
aggressive act. By creating an absence the people left behind feel guilty,
upset and empty."