My brother and I have been dealing with our mom's Alzheimer's for three years and when she finally died last month, everyone kept saying things like 'at least she's at peace now' and 'this must be a relief' — but nobody acknowledges that we've been grieving her loss for years already, or that relief and devastation can exist at the same time.
More people experience this than they realize.
They are navigating the isolation of having their complex, layered grief diminished by others who cannot hold the reality that mourning can begin long before death.
“Where Are You with Disenfranchised grief — when loss isn't recognized?”
If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.