How Dark Am I Right Now?

Desperate Enough to Pull the Plug?

c. 2022, Linda Moran. The Christmas cactus we grew from a single leaf in 2015. It seems to only bloom in April on the anniversary of his death.

Grief has no rules. I’ve heard that since 2019, but it has taken me several years to actually comprehend it. I began discussing grief in detail with my social worker in 2020. I had no idea at that time what grief could do to our bodies, beyond the emotional.

Then I was diagnosed with Broken Heart Syndrome (Takotsubo cardiomyopathy), an actual medical…