Why we need to make space for grief

Abstract

The past 18 months have seen more than their share of human tragedy. Some four million people have died as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, and over 35 million have been bereaved. Grief is the natural and inevitable response, writes Lucy Selman, but for many it has been aggravated by the wider effects of the pandemic: poor experiences at the end of life, limited contact in the days before death, being unable to say goodbye in person, social isolation and loneliness, and the disruption to funerals and collective mourning