The Family Secret: Navigating Grief and Memory The delicate dance between personal grief and family obligations can be a minefield to navigate, especially when tragedy strikes at a young age.
A recent letter to Slate's Care and Feeding column highlights the complexities of dealing with a loved one's mental illness and subsequent death in the presence of younger family members.
The writer, Keeping the Memory of My Sister Alive, struggles with her parents' refusal to discuss her older sister Lana's heart failure, which was directly linked to serious mental illness.