93. A Look at Grief Through the Lens of 9/11

Thoughts on Thoughts

In this episode, KJ reads the story, "What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind" which was written by Jennifer Senior for The Atlantic. This is a true story about the McIlvaine family who lost Bobby McIlvaine (beloved son, brother and soon to be fiance) when he was killed the morning of 9/11/2001. This story illustrates how grief can be processed so differently for each individual. Bobby's mother shut out Bobby's girlfriend, Jen, when Jen refused to let her see Bobby's last diary. Jen became a shell of a person and refused to give up the diary- what was in the diary that made it so difficult for her to part with? Bobby's father became well known in some circles for his ideas about 9/11 being an "inside job" and Bobby's brother was wracked with survivor's guilt. So where are they now after processing their grief for two decades? Listen in to see how one event can be processed so differently by individuals and how grief can take on many forms.

Original story can be found here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/09/twenty-years-gone-911-bobby-mcilvaine/619490/

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