Good Grief

When thinking about losing a parent the first thing that you would do is clear the thought entirely from your mind. Losing a parent is something that we all do not try to think about until the frightening event actually happens. Death can not be either avoided or reversed. After the agonizing death of her mother, the damaging loss of her intermediate family and husband, Cheryl Strayed seems to have lost everything that she cherished the most including herself. During these traumatic events, Cheryl desperately searches for a cure that can heal her from the pain that she has endured. In her book Wild she explains this healing as “not pretty, but clean” and “not good, but void of regret” (Strayed 36). She says that she was trying to heal by getting the bad out of her system so she could be good again (Strayed 36). Cheryl finds several ways to live with the reality of her transgressions without feeling ashamed allowing these lapses to strengthen her instead of weakening her by becoming a character flaw.
Unquestionably Cheryl has definitely had a hard time trying to cope with the death of her mother. Based on the expressive descriptions that Cheryl gave of their relationship, the reader can feel the painful emotions that Cheryl displayed in the wake of her mother’s death. Adjusting the grief that is expressed when you lose a loved one can be more than a challenge. While Cheryl faces these challenges she continues to mourn in a way that shocks her friends, her husband, and even herself. Losing her mother was like losing a large portion of herself and the different ways that she coped can be regarded as a detriment to her character. One of these detriments includes Cheryl participating in sexual activities with random men and infrequen...

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...ssions to strengthen and guide her through the painful loss of mother and life by living everyday as if it were her last.

Works Cited
Manning, Doug. "Sexuality and Grief." The Care Community Home. N.p., 06 Nov. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
Strayed, Cheryl. "The Sun Magazine | The Love Of My Life." The Sun Magazine | The Love Of My Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
Strayed, Cheryl. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Print.
Yvonne. “How can anyone condone such behavior because she lost her mother? This is inexcusable and a cop out as to some real problems this woman must have. Do you really think this is a good way to promote healthy healing through the act of cheating on a spouse. I would not label this as any form of healthy healing whatsoever!” 27 Nov. 2011, 7:29 a.m. Comment.