My Loss

Inside the Recipe Box

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My late mom's handwritten, ingredient-stained recipe cards are among my most cherished possessions. Here's why.

I Have ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ Death Fatigue

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A series that started out being about relationships became a primetime soap opera in which each onscreen death is more over the top than the last.

25 Things I Learned from My Dad

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Life lessons, in chronological order, from a recently deceased parent.

My Stillbirth Experience Changed the Way I (Don’t) Plan

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The daughter I had so many plans for was stillborn. Now I have a healthy baby, but I don't let myself imagine the future.

Sharing My Boyfriend’s Songs After His Suicide

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I'm still making sense of things after my boyfriend ended his life. But one thing is clear: The need to share the music he never got to play for the world.

When Your New Home Has a Sad History

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When you buy a home, you want to imagine yourself living there — not the former owner dying there.

After Phil, A Sharper View

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Philip Seymour Hoffman was my longtime producing partner. After his death, I embraced an open state of mind that's led me to places I'd been wanting to go for years.

My Wife and I Had a Twinless Twin

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Welcoming our healthy daughter meant grieving her identical sister.

Loss, Squared

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One moment, I was planning a long-awaited trip to East Africa. The next, I was facing down two life-or-death decisions.

Revisiting the Track after My Father’s Death

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I'd abandoned the 440-yard loop long ago. Returning to it allowed me to begin grieving my father's death.

Coming to Terms

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The simple phrase suggests contracts and litigation. For me, it's a complex, daily practice in grieving my son's death from Tay-Sachs.

Leaning In, My Way

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I dove into back into work after my daughter was born. As a motherless mother, I soon realized I'd made the wrong choice.

Back in the Saddle Again

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My teenaged son stored his bike after a friend's fatal riding accident. One year on, I still wanted to hold onto him tight but was also ready for him to move forward.

Stuck in My Throat

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I don’t have many regrets. But not thanking the man so influential in my early adulthood is a big one.

Picture Imperfect

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The day after a dear friend's death, I captured on camera my first 24 hours without her.

Beyond Surface Treatments: 6 Trite-Free Tribute Tattoos

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Our "Mourning, Noon & Night" columnist is back with more examples of memorial ink that avoid stale grief motifs.

A Night With ‘The Dead Dads Club’

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A new show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater draws comedy from grief.

Store Credit

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In the aftermath of my husband's death, my friends bought me potted plants. I promptly returned them — unable to contemplate caring for another living thing. Fourteen years on, what would it mean to use my credit at the florist?

Recital Envy

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At my daughters' concerts and school performances, I see all the happy grandparents, snapping photos and bearing flowers. That's when I feel my own mother's loss most acutely.

Divorce as Primer

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I became a divorcée at 29. Months later, my mother suddenly died. The isolation I felt after my marriage ended gave me the tools to deal with her loss.

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