Grief, Loss, & the Good Life

By Abimbola Tschetter -

I’d like to invite you to join me in a brief thought experiment.

What words come to mind when you think of positive psychology?

If you’re like others I’ve asked, you may have said flourishing, resilience, relationships, or happiness—some of the most beautiful and sacred aspects of our lives. But I suspect, although they’re equally sacred and beautiful realities of our humanity, grief, sorrow, and loss may not have made your list. 

In this issue of MAPP Magazine, we sought to explore where positive psychology sits beside suffering. We wanted to make space this holiday season for celebration as well as lament. When asked, “What does the best in us look like when we’re navigating the worst?” Holly Hollbrook (MAPP’25), Marjorie Aunos (MAPP’25), and Arik Housley, responded with breathtaking insights from their journeys through sudden traumatic losses. 

Admittedly, this isn’t your typical holiday issue. But where positive psychology is concerned, we’re hoping to change that.

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Grief Doesn’t Need a Pep Talk. It Needs Presence

For many in Western cultures, grief is uncomfortable. The bereaved are encouraged to move on quickly, and many suffer in silence. How can positive psychology help to inform and support life after loss?

In this article, Holly Holbrook (MAPP’25) proposes an alternative to the PERMA model of well-being and invites practitioners to hold space for sorrow alongside love.

Yes, and Yet: When Joy and Loss Learn to Cohabitate

In 2012, Marjorie Aunos, PhD (MAPP’25) sustained a spinal cord injury that not only affected about 75% of her body but fundamentally altered how she views the world and her life.

In this article, Aunos details how she has adapted over the years, how she has found community and belonging, and offers powerful insights about how joy and loss can coexist.  

Always November:
A Conversation with Arik Housley

In this interview, MAPP Magazine editors Abimbola Tschetter (MAPP’22) and Josey Murray (MAPP’23) spoke with author and speaker, Arik Housley, whose daughter Alaina was murdered in a 2018 mass shooting.

Amid the sorrow of a devastating traumatic loss, Arik and his family experienced overwhelming love. Arik describes how his journey has been one not only of love and loss, but also of healing and growth.

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References

(These are just some of the ones mentioned in the articles.)

Christ, G.H., B., G., Malkinson, R., & Rubin, S. (2003). Bereavement experiences after the death of a child.  In M. J. Field & Behrman (Eds.), When children die: Improving palliative and end-of-life care for children and their families (Appendix E). National Academies Press (US).

Gutiérrez, I. T., Menendez, D., Jiang, M. J., Hernández, I. G., Miller, P., & Rosengren, K. S. (2020). Embracing death: Mexican parent and child perspectives on death. Child Development, 91(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13263

Hockey, J., Kellaher, L., & Prendergast, D. (2007). Of grief and well-being: Competing conceptions of restorative ritualization. Anthropology & Medicine, 14(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/13648470601106079

Aunos, M., Spencer, M., Pacheco, L., & Pituch, E. (2022). This changed everything: a critical reflection on the impact internalised ableist constructs had on becoming a disabled mother. Disability & Society, 39(5), 1079-1101. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2022.2137392

Pollard, C., & Kennedy, P. (2007). A longitudinal analysis of emotional impact, coping strategies and post-traumatic psychological growth following spinal cord injury: A 10-year review. British Journal of Health Psychology, 12(3), 347-362. https://doi.org/10.1348/135910707X197046

Smith, G., Thompson, A. R., McCulloch, A., & Moses, J. (2025). Post-traumatic growth following spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-ethnography. Disability and Rehabilitation, 47(25), 6536–6548. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2025.2487564

Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence.” Psychological Inquiry, 15(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1501_01

Housley, A. & Payne, H. L. (2025). Always November: Lessons in Love, Loss and Resilience. Skywriter Books.

Picture Credits

First image by Holly Holbrook (article author) and used with permission.

Second image by Valerie Rosen and used with permission.

Third image used with permission from Arik Housley.

This article first appeared on Positive Psychology News. To see the original article, click here. To comment on this article, click here.