Stages of Grief: Fact or Fiction?

Until recent times, grievers experienced no time pressure or sense of urgency to get

over the death of a dear loved one. ‘‘Take as long as you need’’ was the common

guidance given by grief supporters. President Dwight David Eisenhower wrote to a

grieving father 25 years after the death of his own son, Ikky, telling him not to

expect to ever get over a daughter’s death. In his book Eisenhower (1999), Geoffrey

Perret noted that the leader of the free world ‘‘... never stopped grieving over Ikky, and

never would.’’