ABSTRACT
Wild and crazy, these things happen and then pass with minimal consequence. Like nightmares, they visit and dissipate. In the throes of grief, however, people also do horrible things, unthinkable things, things that ripple widely and destroy. A daughter starts to mourn the death of her mother when the tests are positive for cancer. The measurable concept of complicated grief is as close as the professional grief literature comes to addressing everyday happenings. The term balances the usual “one-size-fits-all” approach to grief assessment and treatment. During the murder investigation, the police inform Francis that his wife and brother were having an affair. They make him a prime suspect with doubt regarding paternity the motive. A plethora of factors spur it, including suddenly shocking and seemingly preventable or traumatic death, horrifying deaths by suicide, homicide, or a fatal accident, events that evoke shame, embarrassment, or social stigma, and an intensely ambivalent, or excessive dependent relationship with the lost or dead person.
