I thought an essay on children dealing with grief would be unrelentingly sad—and it is, I got tearful a couple of times—but there are also moments of happiness in Mitchell Conksy’s beautiful essay. Grief is messy with no set rules, and the children actually have fun at the camp, which feels like a lovely release for them. As a camp counselor, Consky shares an inside perspective of the camp techniques, and I came away feeling that this place really does make a difference.
Grief is non-linear. One day, three years after a death, grief can return and feel as extreme as it did in the immediate aftermath of the loss. The ultimate difference between child grief and adult grief, she said, is how children will re-grieve throughout their lives.
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