Karl Bushby walked around the world for 28 years while his son grew up without him – but holds no grudge today

Karl Bushby spent almost 28 years walking around the world. When he set off in 1998, his son Adam was eight years old. Bushby and his wife were already divorced, and the day-to-day responsibility of raising the boy rested with his mother.

His return has therefore brought attention to the family cost of his extraordinary journey. Adam grew up without his father's everyday presence while Bushby continued a trip that lasted far longer than originally planned. Bushby himself has acknowledged that he lived a selfish life and knew what he was missing.

Still, the story told by the family is not one of open conflict or lasting resentment. Adam had opportunities to meet his father during the journey, and today says they have a good relationship and that he understands his father's choice better. Bushby's former wife, Angela, has also said that she does not resent him for pursuing his life's ambition, even though she was the one who raised their son.

That does not mean the years apart did not matter, or that a parent's absence can simply be made up for later. But it also does not mean a family has to remain defined by that experience forever.

Bushby completed an extraordinary feat. His son grew up without his father by his side, and his former wife took on the day-to-day responsibilities of parenting. Today, it seems, none of them wants to reduce the story to resentment. All these things can be true at once, without turning anyone into either a hero or a villain.