The death of a life partner is one of the most total losses a human being can experience — the loss of a witness to one's life, a co-architect of the future, the person who knew you in ways no one else did. The social, practical, and existential dimensions of the loss arrive simultaneously, and the culture around it often provides less support than the scale of the loss demands. This domain accompanies this particular grief with the seriousness and the tenderness it requires.
Each step builds on the last.