ABSTRACT
Parents' narratives don't just describe the grief process; they explain it; they make it understandable to the parents and others. One way the narratives explain the grief process is to frame it in terms of upbringing, family and ethnic traditions, and personal characteristics. Many parents used the metaphor of a journey in their narrative about their grief process. Some parents explained why they stayed together despite serious difficulties following a child's death by referring to family of origin patterns. Some parents offered narratives explaining what went on in the aftermath of the death by referring to character and personality. For some parents, the journey metaphor highlights what might be called destinations in the grief process. Some parents used the metaphor of survival to explain how they dealt with the death. Some parent narratives also offered metaphors for a failed grief process, with mental illness being the most common metaphor for failure.
