When you lose a loved one, your own life significantly changes. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross provided a framework for understanding the grieving process when she first identified the profound responses of patients with terminal illness. The emotional stages they experienced—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance—can also explain how people grieve a loved one’s death. This five-part CareNote series on the stages of grief provides landmarks for your own road to healing.

Transforming Your Loss With Acceptance: As you’ve visited and revisited your denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, you’re understanding more deeply the profound meaning that your loss has for your life. But how do you move on from here? How do you reach an acceptance that opens the way for transformation?

By Karen Katafiasz