SIBLING LOSS

"All sorrows can be borne if they can be put in a story." —Isak Dinesen

We all deal with loss. We all understand how hard it can be to talk about death. At a time when public grief rituals have largely fallen by the wayside, mourning can feel secretive and alienating. Our culture pressures us to overcome loss quickly and privately, so that anything but stoicism after a loss can feel isolating and indulgent. Until Molly spoke with her parents, sixteen years after her sister's death, she was private and stoic, but stuck.

Grief is not a disease. Mourning is not abnormal. Loss is not something we can avoid nor is it something we can just "get over." We all struggle to find ways to talk, but it’s hard to know where or how to start. Peanut Gallery spurs conversations and gives us a sense of humor about how difficult these conversations can be. It helps us discover aspects of our own stories.