A mother is beyond any notion of a beginning. That's what makes her a mother.

With ferocity and extraordinary craft, Lizzie Harris has made a book of poems that resonates far beyond the personal stories it tells. Stop Wanting reveals, in every lyric, its author's profound metaphorical gifts. In its ironies and intensities, it brings to mind a writer like the young Sylvia Plath, though what is startling about Harris' s work is the way it combines those gifts with a muted, deft self-awareness. Most of all, these are wonderfully shaped, powerful, and surprising poems-a startling debut.

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.

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

Time doesn’t obey our commands. You cannot make it holy just because it is disappearing.

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

It's a blessing not to be alone in your grief but it's also painful to see your parents and siblings in pain.