Writing Through Grief

4 Steps to Writing Fiction About Loss

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Want to create grieving characters and storylines for your essay or novel? Here's my process.

I Am a ‘Tragedy Trust Funder’

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A modest surprise inheritance from my late husband allows me to raise my two young kids without having to go to work. So why do I feel so guilty about it?

On Teaching Writing Through Grief

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I teach others how to tell their saddest stories. But when it came to my own brother’s loss, the words wouldn’t come — until they did.

Writing a Book With My Mom Kept Her Memory Alive

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Now it's time to say goodbye (again).

8 Steps to Writing a Loss Story with Your Child

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Books are a safe way to explore big feelings. Here's how to write a tale of loss and grief with your child.

Letters To My Dead Mother

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I’d imagined these words, penned on the anniversary of Mom’s death, as an emotional storage unit for my grief — only to realize there’s no such thing.

Why I Told Anne Lamott My Husband Died

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I promised myself I wouldn’t, but then I opened up to a writer I’ve long admired about the most surreal, unbelievable thing that has ever happened to me.  

My Grief is F*cking Funny

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Why I never pass up a chance to laugh my ass off. Especially when I'm grieving.

Mother Loss and My Lyft Driver

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I had a five star ride -- but not for the reasons I'd expected.

My Dad Was Dying While I Was Divorcing

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I vowed never to speak with my ex-husband again. Then my father was diagnosed with leukemia.

Writing With Heart From Behind Bars

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I teach memoir writing at a prison. One week, the topic was loss. My students really went there — and so did I.

After a Teenager’s Death, Metaphors Fail

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My friend's 16-year-old daughter was hit by a car and I struggled to write about it. Because no words can truly encapsulate the zero of grief.

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.

Had I Sealed My Father’s Fate?

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I'm a novelist and killed off the father character early in my first book. When my dad died unexpectedly soon after, I was wracked with guilt.

The Writing Life

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My friend allowed me no excuses for unfinished work. When she died, I thought I’d never put pen to paper again.

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.

The Best Show for Your Grieving Child (and You)

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"Steven Universe" might just be the most nuanced, realistic portrayal of grief on television.

The Eulogist

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Narrative practice has helped me navigate grief. Here's how it could help you, too.

Meet Patricia, Aunt Esther’s Amazon Alter Ego

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It was only after my aunt's death that I really got to know her -- through hundreds of Amazon.com product reviews.

Tears and Tequila in Tinseltown

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A novel imagines a safe haven for young widows and widowers in the City of Angels.

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