AUTHOR NORA McINEREY l've Learned to Live With Grief

AFTER THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND, SHE COULDN'T MOVE ON. INSTEAD, SHE MOVED FORWARD AND ACCEPTED HER GRIEF AS A PART OF HER LIFE

- EILEEN FINAN

In the painful days after her 35-year-old husband died of brain cancer eight years ago, Nora McInerny discovered the unspoken rules for grieving: You have to be sad enough that if somebody sees you out and about, they don’t think, I guess she doesn’t give a crap. But you can’t be too sad for too long.”

MclInerny, now 339, tried to walk that unofficial but widely held line, giving herself a year to mourn her husband, Aaron, before moving on. You think if you hit the one-year mark when you know people’s sympathies are going to expire, you'll be fine. Unfortunately youre not.”