ABSTRACT
Vigils are among the most difficult aspects of the aftermath of death. While in the aftermath of 9/11, the bereaved looked for help from the community and from those who could share in their grief and assist them in getting beyond it, many of the living could not offer that final consolation that the dead were at peace. In the early months of the aftermath of 9/11 one did get the feeling that America in general and New York in particular was a gentler place and those who felt bereaved shared feelings of tenderness for one another. But, while there were many funerals and memorials, the outstanding element of the collective experience of this aftermath has been keeping vigil. Funerals are often cathartic moments when the sense of chaos recedes and the first steps of mourning and resolution occur, when the liminality ends as survivors step over the threshold of their anxieties.
