Abstract

Despite the plethora of research in the area of grief and loss, there remains a need for in-depth inquiry of loss and transcendence. This study focused on one extraordinary woman's experiences with multiple family losses and her process of transcendence. Implications from this portraiture study are drawn on data collected from ten in-depth interviews with the primary research participant and supplemental interviews with six others who were chosen from a purposeful sampling procedure. The participant's personal writing and published book also were included as data sources, as was the researcher reflective journal. Four implications for theory are suggested, drawn primarily from the interview data. The implications are: (1) that tasks or activities of mourning may occur concurrent or simultaneously with each other, in a non-linear process of bereavement; (2) striving for life congruence, including a sense of personal integrity and wholeness, is a motivating force which helps engage the process of mourning; (3) the role of spirituality may be an overarching theme for some mourners that impacts many aspects of growth; and (4) beyond coping, the experience of grief and loss may be a vehicle for growth and transcendence.