The Funny Thing about Death
Changing Our "No Tears, Please" Culture
by Donna Lynne Erickson

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Death is among the most natural, and most confusing, parts of being human. Its inevitability and universality do nothing to alleviate our messy feelings about the subject. It’s why you have no idea what to say when your friend loses a beloved family member. You are not alone. Somehow, our privileged North American ethos has taught us that we need not suffer, that a quick fix to pain and sadness is always available. But this “no-tears please” approach has created a culture of loss avoidance and stifled the natural human need to grieve and mourn losses. With The Funny Thing About Death, find an alternative course of action for a society that’s decided an absence of emotion around death’s unavoidability is the best way to deal with it. In its pages, readers—including adult children watching parents recede and die—will find comfort and counsel on how to lean into the discomfort of grief and allow natural mourning to occur. By sharing stories about death—both her own and those with which she’s come into contact through her bereavement work—Donna Lynne Erickson shows that healing is possible and that there are safe places in which to do so. Ultimately, she looks to challenge the way society regards bereavement, grief, and mourning, and to inspire a revolution that offers a fresh reception of the subject. We all face loss, eventually—let’s do it together.

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Donna Lynne Erickson is a bereavement and grief facilitator who has worked in various health-care roles since 1999. She co-facilitates unique bereavement and grief educational workshops for caregivers, health professionals and those who have a desire to walk with others in their grief journey. Having gathered a great number of rich, personal stories of loss and lessons of hope through numerous humbling encounters with such bereaved souls, she felt compelled to write this book for her peers—baby boomers. Hers is a generation that’s losing family and friends at alarming rates, but is stuck in a culture that’s uncomfortable with tears and will judge how you mourn. Donna Lynne is committed to life-long learning, and holds a number of certificates and designations, including graphic artist, certified bereavement facilitator, and health-care aide. Her most recent adventure has her at the mic as a stand-up comic. She lives in Sherwood Park, Alberta with her beau, Rick Walker.

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Contributors

Author

Donna Lynne Erickson

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