«The Empty Bed» by Lea LaRuffa

We are told that death is part of life. We are told that we should respect the journey and hope that there is a reward for a life well lived. We are told that there is a Heaven which follows death, and that the deceased will find eternal peace. We are told all sorts of things in order to help us cope with grief, loss and even loneliness. We are told that one day we will find our loved ones again and all will be well. And perhaps many of us believe that because we have never given it a second thought or perhaps because those so called experts have convinced us how we should feel and what we should believe. I for one had never thought about death until the loss of my Mother. It was sudden and unexpected, and I was unprepared for what was to follow; the shock, the loneliness, the feelings of abandonment, the uncertainty, the pain, the anger, all of it hit me like a ton of bricks.
I’m old enough to have comprehended what had happened, I should have understood, but I couldn’t and perhaps never will. So this daughters’ memoir was written initially as a way to self-medicate, and later in the hopes of helping others who are grieving the loss of a loved one.