The Grief That Never Ends: Is My Child Dead?
Not knowing means you can’t begin to heal
When someone dies, it can be many things to their family — a release, a relief, a great sorrow. Grief can be overwhelming, and those left behind have to learn to live with it. Most are able to move on and find ways to deal with the loss. Funerals can provide closure and a chance to celebrate their life and mourn.
But what if you lose someone you love and they are not dead?
What if they are just… gone from your life? What if you may never know what happened to them?
All around the world there are parents and siblings and grandparents who suffer every day because a loved one has gone missing. A child or teenager who didn’t come home from school, or went out with friends and disappeared. Nobody knows what happened to them, and they are never seen again.
Imagine waving your son or daughter goodbye, thinking you will see them tonight, or tomorrow. But they don’t come home and they don’t contact you. Their phones are dead. Their social media accounts remain untouched. Their bank accounts, if they have them, remain untouched as well. In cases like this, you can’t help but think the worst. Serial killer. Accidental death covered up. Suicide in some remote place where their body may never be found.
