ABSTRACT
The most common form of unresolved crisis grief is attempted denial, an absence of grief. It is important to understand the psychodynamics of an absence of grief reaction, particularly in light of the modern taboo against the expression of strong emotion, especially grief. Carl was stuck, destined to repeat aspects of crisis grief: denial, splitting, bargaining, anger. Those suffering from absence of grief do not deny the fact of the death or painful loss, they just deny the emotions connected to it. However, as the case of Will illustrates, the grief eventually outs. In The Accidental Tourist, novelist Anne Tyler provides an affecting depiction of an absence of grief reaction in the character of Macon Leary. The clothes became progressively lighter as a signal that the mourner's grief was resolving and that he or she would soon be able to resume his or her place as a fully functioning member of society.
