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Loss and subsequent grief reactions are universal human experiences.

The earliest of records provides us with the insight that the process of grief is a journey best shared.

Peer support is a uniquely powerful means of assisting those beset by the angst of grief navigate the journey.

Contributing authors:

Cherie Castellano, CSW is Vice President for Survivor Services at TAPS and was a member of the New York Emergency Services 9/11 Delegation to England and Ireland

Lisa Zucker, MSW is Senior Director of Education at TAPS

Bonnie Carroll is the Founder and President of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2015

George S. Everly, Jr., PhD, MA is on the faculty of The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and served on the NYPD and Columbia University initiatives at Ground Zero post 9/11

The pain of loss surely extends to time immemorial. It is safe to say that the experience of grief is a universal human experience extending far prior to written records. Societal and religious traditions of lamentation are legion. The earliest written records in Western civilization are replete with mentions of grief. Evidence from the Old Kingdom of Egypt (2600 BC) suggests the mourning of a loss was a public experience involving great pomp and circumstance, especially in the case of the wealthy and ruling class. The 5th-century Greek tragedies were large‑scale public rituals for the cathartic expression of loss and trauma. The tragedies made grieving a civic experience, if not an obligation. The Nordic........

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