Nancy Westaway explores the nuances of grief in our digital society — how our tweets and emails can comfort our loved ones after we’re gone.
grief
Call and Response: Roxane Gay Reflects on Tragedy
Roxane Gay examines her own feelings on tragedy and atrocity and in doing so, helps us find compassion in grief and anger.
In Order to Grieve, Helen Macdonald Got a Hawk and Practiced Disappearing
Hawks aren’t social animals like dogs or horses; they understand neither coercion nor punishment. The only way to tame them is through positive reinforcement with gifts of food. You want the hawk to eat the food you hold – it’s the first step in reclaiming her that will end with you being hunting partners. But […]
Lucinda Williams on Grief and Her Father’s Inspirational Words
The American poet Miller Williams — father of alt-country singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams — passed away on January 1st, 2015. In this interview with Paste Magazine, Lucinda Williams reflects on her father’s influence in her life and on her work. Not only did he encourage her to pursue music, his words inspired many of her songs.
Joan Rivers on Humor and Loss
GROSS: What are some of the most painful things that have happened to you that you’ve ended up making jokes about on stage? Ms. RIVERS: Oh, where do you start? My husband’s suicide. GROSS: Right. Ms. RIVERS: Some man, 60 years old, that couldn’t take the business and went and killed himself. How do you […]
Stephen Colbert on the Nature of Grieving
PLAYBOY: It’s been almost four decades since it happened. Does the grief dissipate? COLBERT: No. It’s not as keen. Well, it’s not as present, how about that? It’s just as keen but not as present. But it will always accept the invitation. Grief will always accept the invitation to appear. It’s got plenty of time […]
The Last Hand-Me-Down: Retracing My Brother’s Life Through His Clothes
Tom Molanphy | Loud Memories of a Quiet Life (OutPost 19) | May 2012 | 18 minutes (4,652 words) Tom Molanphy earned his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. He freelances for 10Best/Travel Media Group at USA Today and teaches creative writing, composition and journalism at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. This […]
The Last Hand-Me-Down: Retracing My Brother’s Life Through His Clothes
Tom Molanphy | Loud Memories of a Quiet Life (OutPost 19) | May 2012 | 18 minutes (4,652 words) Tom Molanphy earned his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. He freelances for 10Best/Travel Media Group at USA Today and teaches creative writing, composition and journalism at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. This […]
On Grieving: ‘If you think you’re doing okay, then you’re doing okay’
“Bonanno doesn’t pretend that smiling is a magical elixir or that laughing will cure the hardest-suffering patients. Grief isn’t a single track, he’s found, but a long private journey that splits along three rough paths. Ten percent of us experience ‘chronic’ and relentless grief that demands counseling. Another third or so plunges into deep sadness […]
