Inner Views of Grief

Watching Inner Views of Grief, a seminar featuring five young people, aged 14-26, who had lost loved ones, I was reminded of my own experience. When I was 15 years old, I watched my best friend drown--he was caught in a strong river current and sucked down a whirlpool, and there was nothing I could do to save him. My helplessness did little to assuage my sense of guilt, however, and perhaps because grief counselors were nowhere to be found when I was a kid, my emotions were bottled, capped, and shelved for a long time. Presented by grief counselor Juanita Johnson, the program features highlights from a two-day conference, in which young people talk about what was helpful and/or hurtful at the time of the death of their loved one, how families have changed as a result, ways they have coped with their feelings, and what they've learned from the experience. In a half-hour, the program doesn't do much more than simply scratch the surface of the subject and the chopped-up panel discussion format doesn't offer the most coherent approach. Still, young people who have experienced loss will benefit from this, and it's recommended, with the aforementioned reservations, for larger collections. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Pitman)