Madelynn Hess

Grief: A Widow's Perspective

Grief. It’s a small word. One syllable. Yet, the amount of weight that word carries with it, is absolutely astonishing. It seems as though most people have heard about the various stages of grief. Denial, when one is simply not ready to face reality and in essence shuts down. Anger, when one realizes their reality just turned on its head and is looking for someone or something to blame. Bargaining, when desperation sets in and one pleads with all the powers that be to just fix it. If they fix it things will change. Depression, when reality really hits hard and even getting out of bed is a struggle. Guilt can rear its ugly head here too. …And then of course, there is acceptance. Where we are supposed to say, “This is life now, it can’t be changed, move forward.”