Wit has truth in it.

I’ve been reading alot about funerary customs lately. In ancient Rome, the funeral party would walk long, public processions to the pyre. Buddhists observe a period of offerings to the poor as part of their bereavement. The Jewish people hold shiva, a week-long gathering wherein relatives congregate in one house to mourn and pray. They […]

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They call it a wake, apparently, because in its ancient origins the word meant “to be active.” We gather together and combat the stunning, paralyzing effects of grief with intentional acts of distraction. We cook. We clean. We refill glasses of water. We move constantly, vigilantly. We press against the overwhelming sense of loss even […]

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