2008 Woodie Awards
How to Deal with Grief
James Werner
Issue date: 4/3/06 Section: Web Content
People deal with grief in their own way. Some people are calm and silent; others are inconsolable, while others can be filled with rage. In early January, I received the worst news of my life. My best friend was killed in a car accident. Upon receiving the call, I had fallen to the ground. A puddle of tears had accumulated on the floor below my face. I felt like a brick had been thrown at my chest and my throat had completely constricted. At first, I did not want to believe it. I had called her up that day. It seemed impossible to comprehend. I kept saying to myself "…she's not dead, she's still alive." It was then at the funeral parlor I started to accept the fact that she was not coming back. When I saw her mother, I completely broke down and sobbed.
The day after she was killed, I contacted a close friend of my family, who has heard of and dealt with these situations before. We spoke for quite a long time. The best advice that he gave was to express my feelings about the given circumstances.
After that conversation, I tried to obtain any piece of sentimental value to remember her by. I printed the electronic mail messages she sent me and printed out an instant message conversation we had a few months prior. I also found a Christmas card she sent to me, in which she wrote the nicest words that I have ever read. I had also gotten a message off my cellular telephone that she had left me on New Year's Day.
I dealt with the grief in my own way, in which I wrote poems, recollections, and even a webpage to remember her. I think dealing with grief as I did helped me get through this terrible time. Someone else might deal with grief differently than the way I dealt with my grief, and no one can tell you how to grieve, it comes from within.
The day after she was killed, I contacted a close friend of my family, who has heard of and dealt with these situations before. We spoke for quite a long time. The best advice that he gave was to express my feelings about the given circumstances.
After that conversation, I tried to obtain any piece of sentimental value to remember her by. I printed the electronic mail messages she sent me and printed out an instant message conversation we had a few months prior. I also found a Christmas card she sent to me, in which she wrote the nicest words that I have ever read. I had also gotten a message off my cellular telephone that she had left me on New Year's Day.
I dealt with the grief in my own way, in which I wrote poems, recollections, and even a webpage to remember her. I think dealing with grief as I did helped me get through this terrible time. Someone else might deal with grief differently than the way I dealt with my grief, and no one can tell you how to grieve, it comes from within.