Status Updates From Finding Meaning: The Sixth ...

I am in the meat and potatoes of the book, working through “challenges in grief” section which details special topics like complicated relationships, mental illness and addiction, the question of “why” did this happen. Author continues to be brilliant, insightful, and articulate. Occasionally, you can see his bias come in and he makes a judgment on a topic but that does not impede with his ethos too much.

My therapist gave me this to read as a homework assignment. Traditionally there are 5 stages of grief (established by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross who I learned about in a death/dying course at Vandy) and this book explores a 6th which follows acceptance: finding meaning. The stories the author has shared thus far are BEAUTIFUL, illustrating God’s Providence (secular book but I can see it) and healing potential.

“I’m not asking you to be an optimist about what happened. I’m not asking you to see the glass half full. There is nothing half full about your loved one dying. I’m asking you to be optimistic about your future, to hope that you can still create a life worth living.”

“You still have a life. It was one you didn’t prepare for and you didn’t want. But this road is still worth traveling. Your story is still in the making, waiting for you to find it.” 🩵