DEATH AND GRIEF
Yet books were finite, podcasts were finite, films had last frames, everything has an end or if not an end then at least—sure, OK, fine—a deadline. Couldn’t we at least find an adequate phrase or image that didn’t feel like a cop-out, a feint, or a compromise? Couldn’t we reach an ending that didn’t lie about the end?
— Catherine Lacey, The Möbius B
... See moreThe bus makes believe
no one cried into their hands and smeared
that grief onto its walls. The walls
will keep the fingerprints a secret
until the sheen of oils glows by moon.
Rows of ghosts come forth to sing.
no one cried into their hands and smeared
that grief onto its walls. The walls
will keep the fingerprints a secret
until the sheen of oils glows by moon.
Rows of ghosts come forth to sing.
Unpeopled Eden
I was deep in the kind of heartbreak that I now know is on the required curriculum for that stage of adulthood but that seemed, in the moment, life-ending and completely unique to me.
Lena Dunham • Why I Broke Up with New York
Grief isn’t productive but it takes a lot of stamina.
What goes together hand in hand.
I think in the geography of our lives there are these blank or foggy spaces, little absences left behind from the people that have moved in and out of our lives. I think of parks, and imprints left behind by people in grass; footprints, or the long flat indents left over by bodies when they’re sprawled out on the ground. When a person stands up fro... See more
love is sad, heartbreaking, but beautiful
For instance, correspondence (letter writing/imaginal written dialogues) with the deceased has been accredited as one of the most impactful ways to deal with grief along with guided imaginal conversations (e.g., a psychological encounter with the deceased to allow the mourner to repair and rework the relationship with them). Moreover, telling stori... See more
Robert Neimeyer • The
Apart from losing social connectedness with the deceased, the majority of mourners lose social connectedness either with their family or friends/social circle, due to difficulty accepting the loss, and try and adapt to a new reality without the deceased and everything they represented (i.e. common daily activities carried out together, common targe... See more
The
Death is pushed to the margins in modern life. There is much drama about the funeral, but this often remains external and superficial. Our consumerist society has lost the sense of ritual and wisdom necessary to acknowledge this rite of passage. The person who has entered the voyage of death needs more in-depth care.
John O'Donohue • Anam Cara: 25th Anniversary Edition
Grief, as I understood it—grief and I were acquainted—is the kind of loss that sets you on fire as you struggle to put it out.