Holding On and Letting Go

Abstract

Although grief and family caregiving have been extensively studied, there exists limited knowledge of anticipatory grief as it relates to families’ transition in illness to bereavement. Evidence suggests the need for a deeper understanding of the role that anticipatory grief plays to support families’ quality of life. The process of understanding is so embedded within our human nature that it is often left invisible in its everydayness. This qualitative pilot study was undertaken to explore the retrospective experiences of anticipatory grief of eight families who have lost a loved one from cancer. Findings revealed that family members lived in a complex tension of the duality of holding on and letting go throughout the illness and continued into bereavement. Retrospective reflection offered a deep awareness of the whole of the grieving process that included the understanding of grief in the midst of illness and its impact on postdeath grief.