Grief is at once a public and a private experience. One's inner, inexpressible disruption cannot be fully realized in one's public persona.

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

I envy my Jewish friends the ritual of saying kaddish - a ritual that seems perfectly conceived, with its built-in support group and its ceremonious designation of time each day devoted to remembering the lost person.

What's endlessly complicated in thinking about women's gymnastics is the way that vulnerability and power are threaded through the sport.

I believe in the importance of individuality, but in the midst of grief I also find myself wanting connection - wanting to be reminded that the sadness I feel is not just mine but ours.

And after my mother's death I became more open to and empathetic about other people's struggles and losses.

Be patient with yourself. Don't make the loss harder by thinking you should be a certain way, or have bounced back, etc.