What it’s like to Lose Papi A Counterstory on Grief

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Painting of a female form standing with one knee bent, holding a wooden sword in right hand angled downward. A blue dragon head is at their feet. The figure wears a white cat mask and stands on brown rocks. A wave rises behind them. A volano errupts in the background over their left shoulder.
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Published: Jan 11, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2688-9595.2023.3.2.20-28
Keywords:
grief grieving critical race theory counterstory mourning public memory family death

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Natalie Madruga

Abstract

This essay combines both the genre nuances of a personal essay and academic article. It focuses specifically on the experience of navigating graduate school while the feelings of grief and structural social norms exacerbate the process. In the beginning, the essay first introduces the argument of why grief and mourning are different for minoritized communities through scholarship from Critical Race Theory. Then, the author presents specific scenes from their life that showcases these challenges through three narrative vignettes, followed by a final reflection. 

Article Details

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Vol. 3 No. 2 (2023): Writers: Craft & Context
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Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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