Tag Archives: death and dying

The Novel that Moved Me the Most in 2023

Through O’Farrell’s “Hamnet,” I found myself mourning my own son.

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Sir Gawain and the Winter Solstice

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” pits paganism’s Winter Solstice against Christmas. But reconciliation is possible.

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Beowulf’s Lessons in How to Grieve

Hamlet, Beowulf, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight each show us powerful ways to grieve.

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Euripides on the Loss of a Child

Euripides helped philosopher Nussbaum handle the death of her daughter. This is one of literature’s great gifts.

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A Moses Poem for a Lost Child

Mourning her dead child, this writer chose to read a poem echoing the infant Moses story.

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Before Vaccines: Home Burials

Poems like Frost’s “Home Burial” can bring home the reality of a child’s death.

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Pullman and Dante on the Afterlife

Pullman, drawing on Dante, provides one of the most sustaining accounts of the afterlife that I know.

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A Memorial Service for Old Classmates

In “Choir Invisible,” George Eliot aspires to have an uplifting impact on others.

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Reading “Jabberwocky” to a Dying Child

Reasons why a mother might read “Jabberwocky” to a dying child.

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