Celebrating life through death
By: Julee Balko
Today is grief awareness day. And now some of you may be thinking, everyone is already aware of grief.
But are we really?
We live in a society where we honor and we move on to whatever is next on our schedules. But those who carry grief often don’t move on. They learn to live with the additional weight on their shoulders. They fake it through weeks of sadness because people no longer bring up their deceased loved ones. How do I know? Because I carry the weight of both my parents and many more people I loved.
When my mother died, I learned pretty quickly you get a week of food and a few cards, and then life moves on. It’s one of the reasons I decided to write my debut novel The Things We Keep using grief as its theme. Grief is complicated and I think more fiction should bring it to life in a way that resonates with those who have gone through it. I wrote my novel so anyone reading it might say I felt that way too and not feel as alone. Because fiction can be healing.
Grief can be heavy. It can completely change the way you look at the world. It can make the past shadow your present like a fog. It can turn simple memories into daggers that throw off your day.
But grief can also feel like love.
Especially if we help those around us going through it. Not just for a week, but for their whole life.
So, let’s be aware today. Let’s be loud today. Let’s shout the names of those we lost. Let’s call a friend and say, I was just thinking about your child/partner/etc. and I miss them too. Let’s give others a reason to break their silence and process their love again. Give someone a reason to laugh about an old memory.
The ones you love may be gone from this world, but they don’t need to be gone from our words. Let’s truly be aware. Let’s truly celebrate life through death.
Julee Balko is the author of The Things We Keep. You can learn more about my novel at: www.Juleebalko.com You can also purchase The Things We Keep on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
