In her recent article “Grief Stole My Love of Reading. Here’s How I Got It Back,” Tish Harrison Warren shares about a time in her life where, despite her career as a successful writer, she found herself unable to read. “I could still go through the motions. I could open a book and stare at its pages. But I couldn’t concentrate.” The dissonance of being a reader who couldn't read spiraled Warren into confusion.

The sudden inability to participate in something central to our perceived identity can feel like a shock to the nervous system. What do we do when grief interrupts our daily routines and even our sense of self?

Warren describes learning to reengage with reading as a process of extending grace, and the same holds true for other creative pursuits. We all experience times of “suffocating sadness” and wonder, “I'm a writer, a singer, a painter, a speaker. If I don't have that, who am I?” Warren has walked the long path through grief and encourages us to grieve through the valley. Those familiar joys just might be waiting for us on the other side.