Speed Grieving (The One, #6)

by Allison Ellis

Grief has a way of creating both a numbing cushion for the grieving and a buffer for the rest of society. People don’t want to get too close, lest they catch a whiff of the pain.

People often describe grief as a roller coaster with all its ups and downs, but really it’s more like a Ferris wheel: circular in its insidiousness, with no hope of actually moving forward until you get off.

In my world and in the world of many of my classmates, men were an afterthought at best and ever-present oppressors at worst. Who needed men? Not us!

My wants and needs came from a place of desperation and loss rather than self-awareness and a willing heart.

We talked about this phenomenon in widows’ group: if you played the “widow card,” it meant you knew you were out of line but could get away with it anyway. A dangerous game, yes, but also quite fun.