https://sundayeveningreview.com/tags/how-to-grieve-a-parent/Recent content in How to Grieve a Parent on Sunday Evening ReviewHugoen-usWed, 01 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0500https://sundayeveningreview.com/letters/how-to-grieve-a-parent/Wed, 01 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0500https://sundayeveningreview.com/letters/how-to-grieve-a-parent/<p><strong>Dear Lorraine,</strong></p> <p>My mother died four months ago. She was eighty-one, which everyone mentions as though it should change something, and which doesn&rsquo;t. She went from a diagnosis to gone in six weeks, and quickly doesn&rsquo;t feel lucky from the inside.</p> <p>I thought I would be better by now. Instead I&rsquo;m standing in my kitchen at eight in the morning, crying because a song came on that she used to hum while she did the dishes. I&rsquo;m still buried in her paperwork (the estate, the apartment, the doctor bills), and every form I sign feels like I&rsquo;m agreeing to something I wouldn&rsquo;t agree to if anyone asked me.</p>