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‘Grief Is Sneaky. It Fools You Into Thinking The Impossible Is Possible.’

 

This story originally aired on October 28, 2017.

In the Fall of 2016, Greg Beckelhymer died after a year-long struggle with metastatic kidney cancer. He was 47 years old.

 

In this story, his widow, Seattle-based writer Michelle Goodmanand her sister, Naomi Goodman, talk about how acute grief is often accompanied by strong denial.

 

“I had to remind myself that he wouldn’t be walking through the front door to make dinner with me and to take the dog to the nearby park afterward. I had to remind myself because grief is sneaky. It fools you into thinking the impossible is possible,” says Michelle.

 
Michelle Goodman wrote an essay for the Washington Post about the in between space between acute grief and moving on, alone. 
 

the_essay.mp3
Listen to Michelle read her essay.

 

Jennifer Wing is a former KNKX reporter and producer who worked on the show Sound Effect and Transmission podcast.