In the book “Lament for a Son”, the author Nicholas Wolterstorff transcribes his painful recollection of the death of his 25-year-old son in a climbing accident, and how he was able to reconcile his grief through his faith in God. His account of the events and mourning is honest and beautifully written. This paper will address the fives stages of grief as they are expressed in the story, demonstrate how the author finds joy after his loss, explain the meaning and significance of death in light of the Christian narrative and how the hope of the resurrection played a role in comforting Wolterstorff.
The American psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross proposed that all individuals suffering loss experienced universal stages while processing this loss. She referred to this processing as the five stages of grief; they are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. These stages are not necessarily in order and are unique to each individual person. In the book “Lament for a Son”, the author poignantly expresses the five stages of grief. The denial stage appears to be brief and fleeting as the death of his son is so sudden. He describes the moment in which he is told of his son’s death and his denial by writing, “For three seconds I felt peace of resignation: arms extended, limp son in hand, peacefully offering him to someone-Someone. Then the pain-cold burning pain” (Wolterstorff, 1987). His anger is expressed in the passage in which he questions, “Why did he do it? Why did he climb that mountain? Why didn’t he stay on flat earth? Why did he climb it alone? Why didn’t he go with someone, roped up safely?” (Wolterstorff, 1987). He ponders his son’s future and laments “all that might have been, and now will never be” (Wolterstorff, 1987).
Lament for a Son is a chronicle of Nicholas Wolterstorff’s journey through the loss of his 25-year-old son Eric in a mountain-climbing accident. Dr. Wolterstorff is a professor of...