Who I am.

I write about the landscape of grief, nature, and the wisdom of fools. The author of four books, my essays, poems, and reviews have been published in over 50 journals, including in the Huffington Post and Colorado Review. I’ve won the River Teeth Nonfiction Book Award, the Chautauqua and Literal Latte’s essay prizes, and my work has been nominated for four Pushcart Prizes and named a notable by Best American Essays. My account of hiking in Yosemite to deal with my wife’s death, Mountains of Light, was published by the University of Nebraska Press. http://www.markliebenow.com.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

The Public Face of Grief


On the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I’m mindful of all those who lost someone that day, as well as everyone who has lost people since then to sudden death. The entire world can change in an instant without any warning, without any time to prepare, and without any chance to say goodbye.

When death comes to someone we love dearly, the world changes, and we are forced to change with it. When we first leave our homes and go back into public, we are numb and in shock. The streets of the city feel different, and it seems that people are looking at us differently. This may be true because the face that people were used to seeing on us is gone. We wear a different expression now. And if people know we are grieving, they may also treat us differently because we are going though something that scares them, and they don’t know how to handle that.

* If you would like to read the rest of this post, let me know and I’ll send it to you. *

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