Talking About Grief

Loss unites us all. Much-loved actor, author and screenwriter, Greg Wise, offers his personal experiences with loss and encourages us to be more open in our own. Grief shapes us but we can learn from it. Through honesty, vulnerability and ritual we can navigate the chaotic, messy journey of bereavement. Wise explores traumatic grief - the sudden drowning of a close friend in his twenties; intergenerational trauma and the sorrow that can be passed down through families; the emotional aftermath of his sister's death from cancer; and anticipatory grief – the pain of infertility and failed IVF when cherished hopes are dashed and we grieve a loss before it is born. Greg offers solace and understanding through his own moving stories. He advocates for a change in our modern suppressive culture of mourning. Instead, we should allow ourselves and others an open healthy processing of grief so we can become kinder, more connected and experience happiness again. ‘I am a being formed by loss, and I am uniquely more alive, more grateful, more compassionate, more understanding of my capabilities, more loving, more connected as a result of it. But I had to do the work … I don’t think I ever really felt joy until I faced into my grief.’