Grief throws one down into a pit that seems to have no exit. Emotions--violent emotions of loss, loneliness, and grief--assault one. Sometimes one can only endure them and cry, no, sob. Sometimes one can laugh at them through one's tears. That's what these poems are about: laugh, cry, endure, go on to the next day and the next attack of grief. The only hope is hope itself--raw, naked, confusing, terrifying, and ultimately, supportive. Read, cry, laugh, cry, and go on living. So it is.