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. Meghan O'Rourke buildceremoniousconceive share on social
Like my mother before me, I have always been a good speller. Meghan O'Rourke goodmotherspeller Change image and share on social
Loss is so paradoxical: It is at once enormous and tiny. Meghan O'Rourke enormouslossparadoxical Change image and share on social
A death from a long illness is very different from a sudden death. It gives you time to say goodbye and time to adjust to the idea that the beloved will not be with you anymore. Meghan O'Rourke adjustanymorebeloved Change image and share on social
Nothing prepared me for the loss of my mother. Even knowing that she would die did not prepare me. Meghan O'Rourke dieknowloss Change image and share on social
'Hamlet' is the best description of grief I've read because it dramatizes grief rather than merely describing it. Meghan O'Rourke describedescriptiondramatize Change image and share on social
All love stories are tales of beginnings. When we talk about falling in love, we go to the beginning, to pinpoint the moment of freefall. Meghan O'Rourke beginbeginningfall Change image and share on social
Loss doesn't feel redeemable. But for me one consoling aspect is the recognition that, in this at least, none of us is different from anyone else: We all lose loved ones; we all face our own death. Meghan O'Rourke aspectconsoledeath Change image and share on social
My whole life, I had been taught to read and study, to seek understanding in knowledge of history, of cultures. Meghan O'Rourke culturehistoryknowledge Change image and share on social
And after my mother's death I became more open to and empathetic about other people's struggles and losses. Meghan O'Rourke deathempatheticloss Change image and share on social
