David Bannon

David Bannon
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David Bannon is the author of two books on grief: Wounded in Spirit: Advent Art and Meditations (Paraclete Press, 2018) and Songs on the Death of Children (Toplight, 2022).

Recent Essays

Else Lasker-Schüler’s Grief

Her work is certainly redolent of sorrow and, as she describes it, the eternity that dwells within her. But her words also carry hope and surprising faith that she will see her son again.

Falling is Not Failure, and Getting up is Not the Point

Life knocks us down. It is the price of this world, however much we may kid ourselves otherwise. Our falls become part of us.

Sigmund Freud’s Grief

In expressing his love through epistolary lament, it may be that Freud discovered the precise meaning he felt he had lost.

Safe at Last

As the sun rises over the Nile or my daughter’s grave, it occurs to me that the ancient Egyptians may have been onto something. Jess lives on, her soul soars to heaven, yet she returns each day, as close as a whispered web or a patient beetle on my boots.

The Heartbreak behind the EEG

Modern physicians use Hans Berger’s invention to save lives every day

The Consolation of Silence

Your presence is needed. Hush. Stay. Show your love by letting them grieve.

Grief in Eternity

Yet at times, if only for a moment, I feel the shadow over my days is transformed into pure spirit. Such thoughts give me a surprising sense of quiet joy.

Emerson’s Grief

Wallie is gone; no visible scar remains. Mourning provides no lesson, no answers, no closure. The poet is not decrying grief for its lack of utility.

Lincoln’s Grief  

The healthy sorrow of our most melancholy president

98.6 Percent of Us Sense our Dead

We’re not crazy — and we’re not alone

Wandering in Solitude

But there is something more going on. We also face a new “transcendent reality,” as Klass puts it, in which we see the spiritual world with new eyes. This may include changed views of the sacred, nature, and time itself.

The Hidden Sorrow of Mother’s Day

Our mothers and our children will always be part of our lives, in life and death. Surprisingly, grief does not dominate our existence, it informs it.