Two years after my father’s death and sometimes I go for days or even weeks without consciously thinking about it, and then all of a sudden I’ll be blindsided by a wave of fresh grief and the recognition of how much I miss him, welling up with tears in the middle of a crowded room, or sitting at my desk at work. The past few days it’s been coming back again and again, seemingly out of nowhere, brutal and almost physical in its assault.

Does the pain never really go away, only stealing away to hide and replenish its strength before the next frontal attack?