Grandparent Loss

Why I Didn’t Post About Grandma’s Death on Facebook

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It felt like something that I was supposed to do, but it wasn’t something I wanted to do.

My Childhood’s Signature Scent

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The smell of tobacco brings my late father — and his favorite vice — back into my airspace.

Vacant Seats

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I heard about Justice Scalia’s death at one of my last dinners with my beloved, if complicated, father. Months on, as the justice’s seat sat unfilled, so did Dad’s.

I Was Given My Grandmother’s Name, But I Took Her Locket

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No matter how many stories I heard, my grandmother remained abstract to me. I needed something tangible to make my grandmother feel real to me.

Why I Love IKEA

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Shopping there is my wildly commercialized way of keeping my Swedish grandmother’s legacy alive. (Plus, family recipes for Swedish ginger snaps and coffee cake.)

Missing the Goodbye

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For immigrant families like mine, loss can mean mourning from a great distance.

Desperately Seeking the Funeral Director With a Matinee Idol Name

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Four years after my grandmother’s death, I was determined to track down — and thank — the mortuary staffer whose kindness (and name) I will never forget.

Operation Orchid

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Grandpa was totally dead. In his honor, I decided to bring my mostly dead orchids back to life.

Making My Dad A Searchable Term

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My dad died before the Internet. When I put his name out into the digital world, I couldn't have anticipated what would come back to me.

Gonzalez Modern Loss

In Mourning, with Broadway and Carne Guisada

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How musicals like "In the Heights" helped after losing my abuela.

When Grandma Got Mean, I Got Angry

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When my spirited grandmother declined, then died, I was as pissed off as I was utterly bereft.

Sleeping Through Grandma’s Death

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When I finally came to after a months-long coma, my beloved grandmother was gone.

Workshopping My Grief

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My classmates were poring over my essay about my grandmother’s murder. As a writer, I’ve never felt more vulnerable.

Father-Daughter Death Spiral

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My mother's and grandfather's simultaneous illnesses challenged their shared worldview that the world could be managed.

The Voicemail Afterlife

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My grandma called daily and, I sometimes sent her to voicemail — rationalizing that I was just too busy to pick up. In the wake of her death, I cherish those recordings.

Losing Grandma Twice

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Dementia stole my grandmother long ago, leaving me to mourn her all over again when she died years later.

Why Grandmothers Rock

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My grandmother died more than five years ago. But to this day when I need a pick-me-up, I channel the positive energy she put into her work, her beloved Phillies and me.

Grandmotherly Advice, Courtesy of Netflix

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Binge-watching 'Murder She Wrote,' I can't help but see my late 'grandmama' in the show's heroine.

Call of the Riled

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Devastating news has twice come in the form of a call. Now whenever the phone rings, I fear the worst.

Mourning Anew

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I thought the tragic death of a young friend would temper the pain of losing a loved one to old age; I was wrong.