Megan Falley is Openly Grieving

Big humungous enormous overwhelming grief

and

Little itty bitty moments of joy.

That is how it seems to go at the beginning, right after a profound loss.

And though the grief may never change in size or color or shape,

slowly,

over time,

there will be more and bigger moments of joy,

surrounding, cushioning, buoying, billowing the grief.

It might be

a hearty guffaw,

a moment of delight,

a splendid afternoon,

an unexpected reprieve from the grief.

I have been so moved on social media, following Megan Falley, recent widow of poet extraordinaire Andrea Gibson, who died in July 2025, as she moves with her grief. She leads and grief follows and then they switch.

Megan is doing this grief dance in public, on tour with their film, "Come See Me in the Good Light."

She says, "I am grieving in public. I am crying on stages. My pain is not hidden in shadows. It is spotlit. And so I am having the inverse experience of loss. Rather than people saying Andrea’s name less and less, they are saying it more and more."

When she meets someone, they already know Andrea died. Megan doesn't have to tell them or answer uncomfortable questions or worry about what is appropriate to share.

The door is wide open. Grief is welcomed in. Grief is flowing in each auditorium and community center and theatre Megan goes to. She is held by everyone. Her heart is wide open. She knows grief and she knows joy.

They are becoming interwoven as she grieves openly.

What would it be like if we could all grieve freely and openly?

#deathdoula #andreagipson #meganfalley #griefandloss #deathanddying #cancer