Postcards from the land of grief

Richard Littledale found that accompanying someone on their final journey seemed to be the most difficult part of his calling.  So he chose further study into this hardest of all pastoral encounters.  He thought he understood all the stages of grief, and he had learned to be ‘professional’ while comforting others.  He probably thought that he could have written Postcards from the land of grief.  But when his own wife died:

‘Having been both an observer and a participant in all the stages … I would have thought myself to be better prepared for my own grieving. Surely, having watched the grieving process all the way through from early diagnosis, to last days and beyond, I should have been ready.’

He had written stories since childhood, and had books published.  So this new widower turned to writing.  He chose a postcard format, as it was the limit of his capacity.  A postcard doesn’t need to be polished, and each card stands alone.  Its message is simply ‘I am here and this is what I see’.  People write postcards when they are away from home, and he felt very much away from home.  He was homesick for life with his wife;  lonely and disorientated.

When journeying through grief, a postcard is about all one can read.  Postcards from the land of grief is ideal for dipping into.  The individual postcards are real but gentle.  You won't find easy answers, but they do offer hope.  They conclude with some postcards on ‘Faith and the land of grief’ and some practical tips.

Richard Littledale has also just written the booklet No visible scar, addressing the additional heartaches of those bereaved during covid-19 restrictions.

Richard Littledale is a Church Minister, who has walked members of his congregation through bereavement, both before and during the pandemic.  In his studies, he focused particularly on grief and bereavement.  But he also writes from personal experience, having lost his own wife Fiona to cancer in 2017.