After all dying is one of the most profound and difficult experiences we have.

Faith does help mourners survive their loss, some studies suggest; but I imagine one still struggles.

I wasn't prepared for the fact that grief is so unpredictable. It wasn't just sadness, and it wasn't linear. Somehow I'd thought that the first days would be the worst and then it would get steadily better - like getting over the flu. That's not how it was.

Many Americans don't mourn in public anymore - we don't wear black, we don't beat our chests and wail.

A mother is a story with no beginning. That is what defines her.

For sure, the funeral industry seems intensely cynical to me and I don't think it is HELPING people mourn.

Sometimes you don't even know what you want until you find out you can't have it.