Lovely Bones Grief Essay

Everybody in life will go through a moment of grief, but the way you will grieve can be different than the way other people grieve. In the Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, the Salmon family has to grieve the death of Susie Salmon, a daughter and a sister. There is no right way to grieve the loss of someone close to you, but there are healthy ways to grieve. For example, the father handles it the best by trying to bring his family closer. The father also puts all his energy into finding the murderer and making sure he will be punished. Jack Salmon handles the grief of losing his oldest daughter the best by putting his anger and sadness into finding the murderer and bringing the family closer. There is no right way to grieve and everybody will experience it differently, but there are healthy and beneficial ways to handle this grief. According to lifesupportcounseling.com grief is a normal part of life and can affect the way you live your life. It also says that people never get past grief and they only learn methods to cope. Also helpguide.com states that how a person grieves depends on many factors including personality and coping style. Everybody in the Lovely Bones grieves differently, but the father clearly handles the grief the best.

First, Jack tries to teach Buckley the game of Monopoly in order to give him a spot during family game nights. He also explains to Buckley that he is not allowed to use the shoe playing piece because it “is the shoe Susie played Monopoly with” (Sebold 68). Jack also focuses his energy on making sure the member in his family are handling the death okay. He “wants to know how [Lindsey] is”, but she does not want to talk to her father about her feelings (60). He also asks Buckley “How would you like to go to the zoo,” in attempt to bring Buckley closer to him so he will not lose another child