ABSTRACT
It is vital that teenagers know about the pain of loss, its inevitability, and how to suffer well. So many adults have never learned to suffer well, and as a result they live a blighted adult life often using alcohol or another substance to dull the pain. Others get stuck in it, like Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, and are then not able to thrive or reach their potential. As the statistics show, at least half of all teenagers will suffer major loss at home by the time they reach their teenage years. Then add to this the common experience of short-lived teenage partner relationships and how so many teenagers get rejected in these years – moving from very, very happy to very, very hurt. It is frankly immoral that we don’t empower them to know how to grieve well and to the point of resolution.
