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.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Stone Monastery of Grief

To many people, the world of Grief seems like a big void, a large, empty cavern of audacious terror that one wants to flee, a place filled with utterly depressing chaos and rampaging emotions. It is.

But it also has long periods of silence after the first onslaught of grief calms. To those who grieve, the journey is like living in a monastery. So much has been taken away that life feels pared back to stone walls. Except for occasional rantings in the middle of the night, it’s quiet the rest of the time. We’re always slightly cold, and the food we eat, while nutritious, is nothing to write home about.


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2 comments:

  1. Wonderful--and so true. In my dreams I knew I would live in a monastic cell in the Green Man's house for a year. In life, it was more like two years. I just shared this on my FB page. Thank you.

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    1. Besides some time in an actual monastery, I was also a hermit in Yosemite's wilderness. Two years. Yes. I wish I had known you then.

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