The Night My Father Died: Using Contemporary Popular Music To Help Heal Grief
Contemporary popular music can be a powerful tool for helping heal grief. This essay begins with an autoethnographic case study of my personal lived experience using contemporary popular music to help manage, regulate, and heal the often-overwhelming emotions involved in grief.[1] I will also analyse this personal experience using a psychological framework highlighting the strengths of contemporary popular music for resolving grief.
It has been four years, nine months, and thirteen days since my beloved father died of cancer. He had been ill for three years, so it was not unexpected, but it was and still is a huge shock. Fifteen months later, my mother also died of cancer. Nothing in life had prepared me for the shock of both my parents dying. I feel shaky all day, every day. My head hurts, my body feels tense, my shoulders ache. It feels like a part of my soul was … Continue reading…