This precarity that grief introduces casts a long shadow. For a while after a sudden loss, nothing feels good, and nothing feels safe. Innocuous situations can suddenly feel like an existential threat. The simple medical procedure is an opportunity for calamity, the long-awaited vacation is a plane crash in the making, a relaxing family picnic is the inevitable calm before the storm. It’s all a bit like some grim Rorschach inkblot test. Where others see happiness, I see a disaster waiting to happen.
