We have many life-determining moments in our lives; moments when something happens, and we make decisions that determine the nature of our future life. Many of these moments are happy ones. We look forward to them, and we enjoy them. But many of our life-determining moments are not happy and we struggle with these unwanted intrusions into our lives - death is probably the most unwanted intrusion in our lives. We all struggle with these life-determining moments. The date when these moments occur will always remain significant to us. Our lives divide into two: before and after.

In The Compassion of Memory P A McDermott explores the grief surrounding the untimely passing of a beloved family member and how grief continues for decades after the intial loss.