A Grief That Can’t be Spoken

There is a haunting line in the musical Les Misérables: There’s a grief that can’t be spoken. There’s a pain goes on and on.

It’s true. There is a grief that seems all-encompassing. It seems like it never ends. It robs you of all your yesterdays and tomorrows. When you are in the grip of grief, everyone and everything reminds you of your loss. You feel raw and exposed. Naked in a world with no clothes. Fragile and defenseless.

Will it always be this bad? I wondered. Will it always hurt this much? I hoped not.

…Grief is like a bear. It retreats to its cave, sometimes for…