I Found this on a Friend's Blog

It's so accurate:

I have found that the death of a parent—any parent—can set us free. It offers us our last, best chance to become our truest, deepest selves. It creates unique opportunities for growth—possibilities unimaginable before and not available by any other means. Nothing else in adult life has so much unrecognized potential to help us become more fulfilled human beings—wiser, more mature, more open, less afraid.

~The introduction to Death Benefits (Basic Books), by Jeanne Safer, Ph.D.