Introduction

Loss and grief are fundamental aspects of human experience. Whenever we make an emotional investment (“cathexis,” to use the technical term), we set ourselves up for a future experience of loss and the grief to which it gives rise. Managing our experiences of grief and, where possible, taking the opportunity to learn and grow from them are therefore inevitable elements of existence. While grief can be very painful, exhausting and frightening, it falls well within the parameters of “normal” life.