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Cold Sassy Tree By Olive Ann Burns

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Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns showcases various trials of grief and how characters deal with it. At the beginning of the book, the death of Mattie Lou Toy, a beloved grandmother, wife and mother sends shockwaves through Cold Sassy. The later deaths of Campbell Williams and Rucker Blakeslee shatter everyone even more. The loved ones display all different types of grieving processes including uniquely distressing ones for grieving spouses and children. Grief can harm an individual’s physical and mental health and can cause many long term issues. Many people go through grief at one point in their life but some are more susceptible to having a difficult time dealing with it. Grieving individuals go through their own processes at their own …show more content…

It has no real time barrier, but usually the symptoms only last for a restricted amount of time until the bereaved can move forward from a loss. There is however a harmful syndrome known as “complicated grief” which is much more arduous. Complicated grief occurs in about 10% of the bereaved (Zisook and Shear). Its symptoms include separation distress which brings up painful emotions, longing for the deceased loved one and overthinking to the point of being completely occupied by the thoughts of the lost loved one. It also causes traumatic distress which is marked by denial, anger, intrusive thoughts and avoidance of reminders of the loved one. Not only do these symptoms cause anguish in an individual suffering from complicated grief, but they can also lead …show more content…

Cold Sassy Tree held all kinds of death and the people left had to find their ways to deal with it. Grief affects us deeply and can mess with our heads and even our physical health. Complicated grief can tear a person apart even more and can prove to have drastic consequences. Spouses who lose their partner and subsequently their way of life have to find a way to get through it which can be extremely difficult. Children who have to go through loss can have major developmental and psychiatric issues as a result of it and it can affect them for the rest of their lives. Men and women deal with the trauma of it in different ways as well and on different levels. Grief is definitely a negative in a world full of positives and it would be greatly beneficial for people to understand what they’re going through to hopefully get through it faster and

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