Fear and Grief

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Fear and Grief

Fear and grief are tools our minds use to protect us. Fear is a throwback emotion from when we were living in caves and had to worry about what might eat us or steal our young. Grief is a more modern emotion, at least as it is associated with value and loss of life. In earlier times, death and loss were too much a part of daily life. Children often didn’t make it to age five, and adults were lucky to live past their fortieth birthday.

Fear and grief often shape our personalities, our expectations, and even hinder or aid our path to success. Fear can make us cautious but it can also paralyze us into inactivity. I am somewhat of a fraidy cat. I have had to overcome fears, many of which were self-induced, of inadequacy and insecurities in order to achieve my goals. I wanted to be a writer but I was afraid to share my stories, afraid they weren’t good enough. They weren’t but in sharing my raw talent, I was able to learn and grow. I was afraid to publish my first book but I’ve recently published my sixteenth novel. I was able to push past the fear, with the help of friends and family, to reach a place I was more comfortable. Sometimes I had to get angry with myself and not allow fear to hold me back. I’m still afraid, but doing what scares us, I believe makes us stronger.

Grief, is another emotion that can cripple you or give you strength. When we have suffered loss, we often fear the loss of others. We hold on tighter or we close ourselves off that we might not feel anything else. Everyone experiences grief in different ways. I always felt like the emotion was too big to contain. I could only deal with it in small sections. I’d pluck off a piece of it and deal with it and then tuck it back in a safe place until I could handle more. I don’t know if this is because I experienced a lot of loss early in my life or if this is just how I’m made.

In my upcoming book, My Unforgettable Rockstar, my main characters Grey Meadows and Morgan Henries are both dealing with grief and loss, as well as fear.

Grey lost both his parents when he was in high school. He hated being the kid whose parents died. People treated him differently. It was like they were afraid it would happen to them, like it was contagious or something. He closed off a part of himself afraid to love too much for fear of losing someone else he cared about. This affected his relationships and even his choices.

Morgan’s grief and fear is fresher, newer and traumatic. She and one other member of their film crew are the only survivors of a freak storm that floods the village where they were doing a documentary. She also has some family drama that adds to her fears and insecurity concerning her relationship with Grey.

Together they will have to overcome or accept their fears, face their grief, and decide if being together is worth the risks or if they would be better off alone.

I hope you will check out My Unforgettable Rockstar. It is available for pre-order and releases November 16th. https://books2read.com/myunforgettablerockstar