Pauline Boss explains ambiguous loss—the grief of someone or something being both present and absent—and offers humane language for living with uncertainty when resolution or “closure” is impossible.
This is one exact episode. The review applies to this conversation only.
Your loss has no clean ending; someone you love is physically or psychologically absent; or pressure to “move on” has made grief feel more isolating.
Know before you begin…
Includes kidnapping, suicide, dementia, war, genocide, divorce, and unresolved death. Some dated cultural and disability formulations require care and should not be generalized.
