The First Hours of Grief
In this short YouTube video, grief expert David Kessler introduces a personal account from a speaker who has just learned that her father died a few hours earlier. The speaker, located in Seattle while her family is in New York, describes the "invisible work" of the first hours of grief: managing phone calls, texts, coordinating funeral arrangements with aunts, monitoring her mother’s emotional state, and making lists—all before she has even had a chance to feel the loss or cry. She explains how different parts of her mind are simultaneously trying to collapse, stay organized, and keep others’ emotions from exploding. Kessler validates this description, noting how modern communication amplifies the busyness of early grief, and invites viewers to share their own experiences of the invisible work of grief, follow for more support, and engage in the conversation.
