Slices Of Life

By: Jill Pertler

Last week, this column touched on the topic of complicated grief. It’s defined as a grief that includes a heightened state of mourning that keeps one from healing.

When you heal from an injury, that injury exists no more. The same can’t be said about grief. Grief never goes away. It never quite fully heals. I think it would be wrong if it did.

Grief doesn’t die because love doesn’t die. It’s as simple (and as complicated) as that.

In that regard, grief defies definition. It defies labels.

But we try. We try to define grief and put it in a box, because it’s neater that way and...