If the condition of grief is nearly universal, its transactions are exquisitely personal.

The truth is, I need to experience my mother's presence in the world around me and not just in my head.

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

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.

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 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.

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