Hospital

Life’s Too Short to Wear Beige

By Heidi Blum

I was a closeted gay woman surrounded by white-hued walls and yearning for my own colorful world. My sister's death changed everything.

As My Wife’s Due Date Approached, My Mother Was Defying Death

By Michael Bahler

I told myself she was holding on to meet the baby. My father and sister had other explanations.

Sleeping Through Grandma’s Death

By Amy Oestreicher

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

Close to Death

By Abby Sher

I had just given birth to my third child and was training for a half-marathon when I had a heart attack. And as I lay in my hospital bed, I could hear the woman in the next room dying.

Dorm-Room Mourning

By Ruby Dutcher

After my mom's death, my dorm room was an embarrassing place for grief.