Literature Lessons: Loss

In Island Whispers, Angelica has lost someone even before the novel has started. Her father has been missing for weeks and the end result isn't hopeful. At this point, she is on her own. Her mother died when she was a baby so her father was all she had.

There are different types of loss. Everyone has a different experience. The people that are important to us can't be replaced or easily forgotten. However, how we cope with that loss is vital to how we continue living.

For Angelica, living is hard and getting out of bed is a struggle. Many people may remember similar actions after losing a loved one, as though a sort of foggy lens has been put between you and reality. Grief makes us tired. It drains our energy and Angelica has been dealing with it hard.

Now, she does have a social worker, Estella, who comes to speak to her in the weeks after her father's disappearance, but as stated above, no one can replace or fill the void. We bear what we can and cope how we are able. There are different ways to cope too and we'll say that Angelica's initial coping mechanism isn't healthy. She isn't participating in life. She gets up later and is tired. She doesn't interact with others. Essentially, she is missing out on the good experiences that she could be having.

Her next method of coping is healthier and spurred by Estella's advice. Angelica applies for a partner. In this world, she can become bonded with a pegasus, gryphon, dragon or unicorn. Her visit to the Partner Adoption Center leads to a purpose and external reason for living. She is taking care of another creature and is responsible for Swift - her pegasus.

Responsibilities often wake us up. They give us purpose. When you have to care about someone else's well being, you find strength to get up and reasons to take action. However, that is not a long term solution by any means. You must live for yourself, but finding ways to get involved and active in life helps you find your way back.

Angelica starts going to classes with Swift and meets angels around her age. She becomes involved in the community and finds things to occupy her mind. In no way is she forgetting her father, but she is learning to live her life and find happiness of her own.