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Abstract

The death of a child is the most devastating event in a parent's life. Yet, every day in the United States, hundreds of parents hear some variation of the words, “we did everything possible; but nothing worked; I am truly sorry; your child is dead.” When a murderer is the causal agent of a child's death, the parent's experience becomes multilayered. Yet, the literature lacks insight into how parents act and react during such a crisis. What coping strategies do parents employ to deflect seemingly innocuous platitudes, experience the emotional pain, to live a private tragedy in the public's eye? Through public discourse, addressing such issues can be cathartic; it can expose a certain vulnerability of the narrator; it evokes myriad images for others.

Keywords

child's death homicide victimology grief

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Mystory: Personal Experience in Public Discourse

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