Giving voice to the account: The healing power of writing about loss

Abstract

My own personal experience of loss brought on by the death of a loved one, plus the account-making studies by Harvey et al. (1990), lead me to believe that writing can be a beneficial way for those experiencing grief to find voice and regain a sense of coherency by recording the variety of sweeping emotions that follow in the wake of great loss. Although confiding to close others can be particularly helpful, those in grief may find that writing can offer certain advantages. Writing not only allows the mourner to compose a record of the story, but it also lets the mourner gain a certain amount of distance from the event by placing one's self within the context, using either first, second, or third person. Writing can be a powerful tool: One can re-collect the fragmentation and track the self through an unfolding story. Journal entries, essays, or letters to the deceased are written records, recorded accounts that can be referred to after a long passage of time, giving one the chance to reread those words and witness the slow progression of healing.