Losing a Loved One to a Violent Death

As September 11 comes again, we are reminded that some of us need help to grieve

There is additional trauma to understand when loss of a loved one is also marred by an act of violence. Syda Productions/Shutterstock

It was a beautiful Tuesday morning on September 11th, 2001. I was making rounds in the hospital greeting a couple of patients with a smile, as I knew they were well enough to go home that day.

Others were holding steady but not quite ready to return home for their recovery. In another section, patients were either tenuous, holding onto life with whispered prayers and the modern machines of medicine, or they were preparing for the final paradigm shift of life.