title: "It may not be pretty, but it's honest": examining parental grief on the Callapitter blog.
abstract: Following the death of a child, parents are turning to alternative means of communication to express their grief In this instrumental case study, the authors explore how 1 woman, Amy Ambrusko, communicates her grief experience on her blog, emotionally negotiating loss and parental grief. Guided by M. S. Miles's (1984) parental grief model, the authors argue that the Callapitter blog serves as a case study illustration of online parental grief. Specifically, Ambrusko displays parental grief in three ways: (re)questioning reality, experiencing discursive and corporeal guilt, and rationalizing a "new normal." This analysis highlights the changing nature of communicating about grief and underscores how grief blogs challenge contemporary social death rules.
authors: Department of Speech Communication, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Illinois 62026, USA. jocbrow@siue.edu
authors: Jocelyn M
authors: JM
authors: DeGroot
authors: The School of Communication Studies, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA.
authors: Heather J
authors: HJ
authors: Carmack
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D057218:Blogging; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011936:Reality Testing; D012922:Social Change; D014481:United States