Death of your spouse rips down a substantial part of this bundle. And what remains is the naked you. What held and covered your propensities is no longer there. When you had to reach out for comfort and safety, when you wanted to cling to an anchor – to either lean on or vent out, or when you simply needed an opinion, there was another human you wouldn’t be afraid of disclosing your vulnerability. Marriage builds that space for us, to let loose what we otherwise wouldn’t. And, when that promised space turns non-existential one day, a portion in you turns barren. The void it forms in your being can only get heavier with days until with time, the leftovers of your bundle come to terms to life’s actuality.
X for (E)xited, but not Extinct – The Existential Woes of the Bereaved Spouse
