Nothing prepared me for the loss of my mother. Even knowing that she would die did not prepare me.

I have seen that grief can be very different for different people. While the range of emotions experienced is similar, the way we deal with those emotions isn't, necessarily.

When my mother was sick, I found myself needing to put down in my journals all sorts of things - to try to understand them, and, I think, to try to remember them.

Many grievers experience intense yearning or longing after a death - more than they experience, say, denial.

Many researchers say the dominant emotion experienced after loss is yearning or searching. And while you might feel more anger early on, it's accompanied by a whole host of other feelings.

It's all too easy when talking about female gymnasts to fall into the trap of infantilizing them, spending more time worrying more about female vulnerability than we do celebrating female strength.

I am the indoctrinated child of two lapsed Irish Catholics. Which is to say: I am not religious.