“It May Not Be Pretty, But It's Honest”: Examining Parental Grief on the Callapitter Blog

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 Miles , M. S. ( 1984 ). Helping adults mourn the death of a child . In H. Wass & C. A. Corr (Eds.), Childhood and death (pp. 219 – 241 ). Washington , DC : Hemisphere Publishing Corp . Google Scholar) 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.