These hands have a deeply personal journey with grief and revealed that their understanding and experience of it have evolved over time. Initially, they struggled with grief, finding it overwhelming and difficult to process. As they grew older, they came to view grief as a natural and necessary way to honor loved ones. They now feel more comfortable accepting it when it arises.

These hands hold a photograph of their mother with Richard Simmons from the early 90’s. This photo represents a rare moment of happiness and health for their mother, who has faced chronic health issues throughout her life. This period was a "golden time" for their mother and presently, she is no longer able to walk and is in poor health.

These hands expressed a desire for others to understand the profound fatigue that accompanies their grief. They emphasized that their exhaustion is not merely a result of everyday stresses. There is a deep, overwhelming weariness tied to their emotional struggles. Despite their openness about their grief, they wish more people would recognize and acknowledge the intense toll it takes on them.

These hands voiced a curiosity about how others manage long-term grief and how one can heal from the prolonged emotional burden. They are particularly interested in understanding how people cope with the ongoing uncertainty and emotional weight of grief.

These hands are reflecting on their deep and ongoing experience with grief, which began in their teenage years. At sixteen, they faced a profound loss when their cousin died in a car accident. This event was compounded by two more tragedies within a few months: the death of their grandpa and another cousin. These losses deeply affected them, shaping their worldview and emotional landscape.

In their adult years, they have continued to grapple with grief, experiencing a miscarriage and the death of their other grandpa. Each loss has been uniquely challenging, intertwining with their personal journey and emotional processing.

These hands expressed a desire for more open conversations about grief and the varied ways people cope with it. They believe that while their grief has been a significant part of their life, societal norms often sideline discussions of it.

These hands hold physical mementos that hold sentimental value, such as a candle and pink ribbon from a cousin’s funeral, a metal from another cousin’s gymnastics achievements, and a piece of wood from their grandpa’s land. These items symbolize their connection to their loved ones and their lasting impact on their life. Through these objects and conversations, these hands seek to honor their grief and keep the memories of loved ones alive.

These hands describe grief as a deep, watery emotion related to loss, which they personally experience through estrangement from their child. There is a deep pain they carry each day. They believe that grief is like being broken open.

These hands shared that grief can be isolating and reflected on experiences of communal grieving. They emphasized the importance and the healing power of grieving in a supportive community. They believe that sharing vulnerability can help process pain.

These hands hold sentimental items from their estranged child, which they keep as reminders of their love for them and their ongoing grief. One was a Mother’s Day gift.

These hands have been on a grief journey comprised of personal loss, the healing power of community, and an enduring hope for connection.

These hands shared experiences and reflections on grief and addressing the stigma surrounding it. They highlighted that grief is often difficult to discuss openly due to its complexity and the discomfort it may cause others. From their own experience, they felt compelled to hide their grief to avoid making others uncomfortable, despite it being a central part of their life.

These hands describe grief as a multifaceted emotion that evolves over time. Initially marked by intense loss and trauma, it later includes bittersweet memories and self-reflection. For them, grief has grown more complex as they have dealt with the absence of their father and the realizations about what was missed during his lifetime.

These hands expressed a desire for more open discussions about grief, wishing people would feel more comfortable acknowledging and talking about it. They feel that having safe spaces where people can openly share their grief and memories would be beneficial. These hands also reflected on how family dynamics affected their grief, noting that their family's focus was often on someone else’s experience rather than their own.

These hands enjoy knitting and learned from a friend during the last part of their father’s life. These hands now support that friend after a recent miscarriage.

Ultimately, these hands find that their experience with grief has led to personal growth, making them more open and appreciative in their roles as a mother, partner, and friend. They believe that grief, while painful, can foster significant personal development.

The grief these hands hold is intertwined with identity. They are grappling with grief related to a recent autism diagnosis, which came at age 40. This revelation has led them to reflect on their past struggles with ADHD and the broader implications for their self-perception and future.

These hands also mourn the loss of a photography career, a field they deeply loved, but found increasingly unviable. This transition has led to a reevaluation of their sense of identity and success. They question societal expectations about success and independence, particularly the pressures to constantly achieve and the challenges of navigating their own needs and limits.

They shared a poignant story about supporting a friend through grief and how that experience, alongside the development of old photographs, connects to their current feelings and identity struggles.

Overall, they highlight a deep exploration of personal grief, the impact of professional and personal transitions, and the ongoing search for understanding and support. Their grief and their identity are invitations to balance independence with vulnerability.

These hands shared their unique perspective of grief as a primary care physician, highlighting how their medical training shaped their understanding of loss. They explained that they often begin grieving loved ones before they pass, leading them to experience grief as a process of acceptance rather than immediate loss. They carry a sense of grief daily due to the nature of their work. They acknowledged that grief manifests in many forms and may resurface unexpectedly, but encouraged folks to seek help for complicated grief.

These hands define grief as the struggle associated with loss, particularly the death of loved ones, and emphasized the importance of discussing death openly, especially in a medical context. They reflected on the need for advance care planning, such as discussing Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders. They critiqued how some medical professionals avoid these conversations. They highlighted that death is an inevitable part of life and stressed the importance of having discussions about end-of-life wishes early.

These hands hold a stethoscope and explained that they wear a stethoscope not just as a professional symbol, but as a means to foster trust and connection with patients. It also serves as a reminder of the delicate nature of life and death they navigate daily.

These hands hold a relationship with grief and darkness. They described their early identification with grief and how they balance sorrow with humor, likening their experience to "Robin Williams Syndrome," where the funniest people often grapple with deep sadness. These hands find grief in everything, even in the mundane aspects of life - the “good grief” of it all. Losing something early in life helped them balance extremes of bright and lively with heavy and death.

These hands shared a personal story about their father's overdose when they were only 16 and subsequent recovery, noting how this event introduced them to the multifaceted nature of grief. For years, they wished he had simply died rather than enduring a prolonged suffering that strained a family further. Expressing this complexity often leads to judgment - people assume they are wishing harm upon their dad, which isn’t the case at all. It’s a nuanced grief, acknowledging the pain of what was missed and the reality of what is present.

These hands expressed a desire for more open discussions about grief, wishing people could handle its complexity better. They appreciate the opportunity to discuss these themes and hope there can be a cultural shift toward more understanding and acceptance of grief's various aspects. There is a desire for embracing the totality of grief, including its humor and its sadness. These hands are holding space for the full spectrum of the human experience.

These hands hold a relationship with grief and darkness. They described their early identification with grief and how they balance sorrow with humor, likening their experience to "Robin Williams Syndrome," where the funniest people often grapple with deep sadness. These hands find grief in everything, even in the mundane aspects of life - the “good grief” of it all. Losing something early in life helped them balance extremes of bright and lively with heavy and death.

These hands shared a personal story about their father's overdose when they were only 16 and subsequent recovery, noting how this event introduced them to the multifaceted nature of grief. For years, they wished he had simply died rather than enduring a prolonged suffering that strained a family further. Expressing this complexity often leads to judgment - people assume they are wishing harm upon their dad, which isn’t the case at all. It’s a nuanced grief, acknowledging the pain of what was missed and the reality of what is present.

These hands expressed a desire for more open discussions about grief, wishing people could handle its complexity better. They appreciate the opportunity to discuss these themes and hope there can be a cultural shift toward more understanding and acceptance of grief's various aspects. There is a desire for embracing the totality of grief, including its humor and its sadness. These hands are holding space for the full spectrum of the human experience.

These hands discussed their experiences with grief, particularly surrounding their health issues and failed relationships. They expressed a deep sense of loss related to a life they envisioned for themselves, feeling overwhelmed by a series of unfortunate events, including health struggles and personal relationships.

They feel like every part of who they are got taken away from them. They love to dance, hike, and be on the go, but they can barely leave the house now. Just waking up and trying to feel halfway decent is a struggle.

They articulated a longing for validation and the need for genuine support from others, emphasizing that simply asking how they are doing can make a significant difference. They grapple with feelings of isolation, even as they find solace in connecting with others who share similar experiences. They highlighed the importance of recognizing and accommodating those dealing with disabilities and health issues.

These hands expressed interest in participating in this project because they feel the need to discuss experiences with loss, especially since many people around them do not share similar experiences. They also believe that art and creativity can be beautiful tools for the grieving process. They have faced multiple losses recently, including their grandmother, an aunt, and others, which has made their grief feel overwhelming. They mentioned that the next form of grief you encounter always seems to dig up the previous ones. They described grief as feelings of being hurt accompanied by love, highlighting its deep emotional complexity.

They wish people would be more open to discussing grief and expressed a desire for more resources that cater to diverse needs, emphasizing the importance of connection. They noted that the weight of grief can make processing it feel inaccessible when resources are heavy and daunting. Things like traditional support groups may not work for everyone.

They reflected on their lack of preparedness for grief before their own losses. They also acknowledged that there is a period of time that goes by after loss when people stop asking how you’re doing. It is a part of them everyday and they don’t want to not talk about it.

These hands shared that grief has been a significant part of their life for the last several years, both personally and collectively. They feel like society doesn’t adequately recognize or address it.

Their grief journey began with the ending of a relationship, followed by the death of their father, which in actually has been ongoing for the past decade, particularly due to their strained relationship. These hands explained that their sobriety marked a turning point in their relationship with their father, as they could no longer ignore his own struggles. Despite a long grieving process, their father’s recent death brought a deeper finality, which still feels surreal. They also discussed the grief tied to the unraveling of their engagement and a significant career transition, which made them feel isolated and financially unstable. This period led them to a deeper understanding of grief, especially around the loss of the life they envisioned.

These hands reflected on the duality of grief, noting that while it’s painful, it can also be beautiful and transformative. They wish others understood the internal tenderness and shame they feel about their grief, despite appearing composed outwardly. They emphasized the importance of ongoing support, especially after the initial wave of grief has passed and values those who continue to check in. They believe there needs to be more open discussions about grief and for society to create spaces where grief can be acknowledged and held with care, allowing people to process it in their own time and with community support.

These hands have a journey through grief that is both intimate and profound, a reflection of their life’s experiences and emotional landscape. For them, grief is not just a transient feeling but a constant, flowing presence - like a river that ebbs and flows with the tides of joy and sorrow. This ever-present companion, which began in earnest during their early adult years, has become an integral part of their existence.

These hands were suddenly thrust into the role of primary caregiver for their parents, who both faced significant health issues simultaneously. This sudden shift, combined with their upbringing in a family that avoided emotional expression, led them to initially suppress grief. They became a diligent caregiver, focusing on practicalities rather than acknowledging their emotional pain. It was only through experiencing burnout and emotional exhaustion that they began to confront their grief more openly.

Caregiving, they discovered, was both a teacher and a healer. It forced them to face the complexities of grief head-on and to embrace it as a constant, rather than something to be feared or avoided. This acceptance was hard-won, but it allowed them to integrate grief into their life rather than seeing it as an adversary.

These hands are accompanied by joyful and poignant cards, as well as nearby tattoos to help them carry symbols of their ongoing connection to their parents - one who is battling Alzheimer’s and one who recently died. These are more than memories - they are expressions of a grief that is both personal and collective.

These hands value authentic support and prefers people to check in honestly rather than offering clichéd comfort. These hands also emphasized the importance of discussing less commonly acknowledged forms of grief, such as anticipatory and disenfranchised grief, and seeks to bring more humanity to these conversations.

These hands centered our conversation on the nuanced experience of grief, particularly when grieving something other than the death of a loved one. They shared how they are grieving the changing relationship with their father, whose chronic illness has been progressing, and how they struggle with the loss of the way things once were between them. They talked about the grief of accepting that they can’t change or “fix” him and the difficulty of letting go of past expectations. They also reflected on grieving not just the loss of their father as he once was, but also shedding past versions of themselves, like old social habits and expectations as they undergo personal change.

In terms of support, they find it helpful when people share their own grief experiences, especially those involving living loved ones, as it makes them feel less alone. They also noted a lack of societal recognition for the various forms of grief people experience. They emphasized the importance of acknowledging that grief is complex and that it’s okay to grieve things like shifting relationships or past versions of oneself, even when society doesn’t always make space for those kinds of losses. Self-compassion, writing, therapy, and community have been important for them in processing grief.

These hands shared their personal experiences with grief, discussing how it’s a universal yet deeply personal emotion. Initially, they reached out for this project because they had recently lost their trans daughter to suicide. They also are grieving the loss of their mother, who passed away over 15 years ago. They also reflected on the grief that comes with the loss of friendships and changing circumstances in life. They emphasized that grief isn’t just about death - it can also be about the changes and transitions that life brings.

They discussed how they allow themselves to feel grief when it arises, calling it a “grip” on their heart. They find comfort in the love and connection that persists even after physical death. They have found ways to honor and tend to their grief daily, such as listening to meaningful songs, looking at photos, and taking a moment of quiet reflection when they get into their car. They noted that grief can be felt even in ordinary moments (like during daily tasks) and sharing it with others can be healing.

At work, they wish people would be more open to talking about grief, especially in a supportive, non-awkward way. They shared that while their workplace was respectful after their child’s death, it can still be challenging to return and engage with others who may not know how to approach the subject. Workplaces have to figure out how to be sensitive to the bereaved in the moment, but also upon their return. They invite others to ask them about their grief, share in tears if they feel moved, and not shy away from discussing it because it’s a shared human experience.

These hands hold a picture of their daughter at a music festival - a reminder of her joy and individuality. The memory and image help with navigating grief while honoring their child’s life and spirit.

These hands opened up about their feelings surrounding the murder of George Floyd and the impact it had on them. They shared how they reached out to friends and family, expressing fear for their own mixed-race family and their community… encouraging them to have conversations about race and humanity. While friends were supportive, family, especially their mother and sister, distanced themselves, which left them feeling emotionally abandoned. This tension has compounded their grief, which is not only about those strained family relationships but also about the broader social and political climate that feels threatening, particularly for their children.

They reflected on the loss of what could have been… a world where their children grow up without fear and a family dynamic that isn’t shaped by political divides. They expressed a deep concern for the future, fearing for children’s rights and the direction the country is headed. At the same time, they are trying to protect their children from this grief and maintain a relationship with family, even though it feels increasingly difficult.

These hands emphasized the importance of humanity and connection in grief, noting that many people don’t recognize the grief and trauma they carry, which shapes their behaviors and decisions. They advocate for acknowledging these feelings and finding ways to support each other through them. They also shared that direct questions about grief may not be helpful, but small gestures of understanding and validation have meant a lot to them. To cope, they have created boundaries and distance from toxic environments and have started focusing more on things and people that bring joy and a sense of safety… conversations, family moments, and activities that nurture them.

These hands reflected on their personal journey with loss, particularly the grief associated with losing their father and the end of their marriage. They discussed how grief, both personal and collective, is often misunderstood or not fully acknowledged by others. They want more open, compassionate conversations about death and loss.

For them, grief has evolved from a deep, isolated experience to a more expansive one, where joy and relief can coexist with sadness. They shared that their grief process involves creating space for stillness, reflecting on memories, and allowing all emotions to surface without judgment. They also touched on showing up as their true self after coming out as a LGBTQ+ person and the grief tied to shedding past versions of themselves.

Additionally, these hands talked about the collective grief felt by many due to societal issues and the global pain that is often overshadowed by personal grief. They emphasized the importance of accepting and experiencing all forms of grief, acknowledging that it’s a deeply individual process that cannot be easily compared across experiences. They expressed the value of having conversations that make space for grief in all its forms.

These hands hold their father’s ring and their wedding ring.