Tag: grief

Good Grief

Good Grief

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Mourning and moving on after cutting off an abusive parent.

By Ashley Carey
Art by Maddy Best

CW: Mention of domestic abuse by a parent and childhood trauma.

This is for every person whose parent(s) did not love them in a way a parent is supposed to. For those of you who had a “parent” who was a charming narcissist or abuser or just plain toxic, I see you. And you deserve a life filled only with the people who can appreciate all that you are.

It’s a deeply strange experience to grieve the living. Much like any other form of grief, it’s also quite lonely, though in a profoundly different way.

So much has been written and understood about grieving those we’ve loved and lost. It’s certainly not an easy thing to do, which is why I believe so many people avoid grieving once the funeral dies down (woof that pun was terrible. I’m kind of a walking dad joke despite not having a dad. SICK BURN, DAD).

Grieving someone who is alive is super weird, and mercifully is something many people don’t seem to understand.

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Navigating the Complexity of Guilty Grief in The First Year

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By Bella Rainey

Writing about your own book is always a humbling experience, and it is also required when you write a book. 

Hey friends, my name is Bella Rainey. You may recognize me from KCtoday, but if not, it’s so nice to meet you. Outside of writing for KCtoday (or here for Catcall), I have a tendency to basically never stop writing. Whether it is a notes app entry or a full novel, I seem to never run out of words to say. 

That brings me to the aforementioned novel. Let’s rewind the tapes. 

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A Glass of Filtered City Water

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By Abigail Rommel

Letter to any readers that might stumble upon this:

I write this antidote in present tense because of how current the story still feels to me, no matter how long ago it was.

It’s Sunday night, and I can’t sleep, which rarely happens. But, the A.C. is out, so I’m not surprised. I decided to perform my can’t-sleep ritual of sifting through my friend list on Facebook, and creeping on the profiles of each person I wonder, “What happened to so-and-so.” It’s good fun, and it settles my racing mind.

This time, I scrolled and saw a friend who I haven’t seen in ages—last year. For most, that’s not long at all, but then it suddenly dawns on me that it feels like forever because it is forever.

She’s gone.

Photo by Ethan Sykes

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