[Emotions And Writing Series] Grief And Writing

This episode explores three key areas where grief can manifest in research and academic roles:

1. Loss of Research: I examine how losing access to a research site or experiencing other research disruptions can profoundly affect academic writing.
2. Institutional Loss: This segment discusses the emotional challenges associated with changes in academic institutions, such as mergers or reorganizations.
3. Loss of Colleagues: I cover the grief of losing colleagues and mentors, including the difficulties of continuing collaborative projects or publications after a co-author’s passing.

Throughout the episode, I share real-life examples from coaching clients and offer insights on how to navigate these challenging situations. I underscore the importance of addressing grief and seeking support to navigate loss. Finally, I offer practical advice for managing grief and its impact on writing, including strategies for research pivots and the need for reflective thinking.

Loss of Research

I want to normalize grieving the loss of research or a research site. Some examples of loss of research could be the dissolution of a community you are studying or the inability to complete your research because of safety or other barriers.

Writing about the research, you are grieving the loss of is really difficult because writing is emotional. Ignoring your grief will just prolong your disconnection from your writing. If you are struggling with the loss of research, acknowledge it and try to work through it by:

• Brainstorming adjacent research areas
• Doing a research pivot through reflective and thoughtful exploration
• Seeking professional counseling or therapy

Loss of Institution

Unfortunately, I believe that institutional loss will become a prevalent problem. Larger universities are absorbing smaller colleges, and these shifts come with department changes, research challenges, project disruptions, and pressure to reshape your career. 

It’s common for academics to feel guilty about grieving an institutional loss, especially when they think they should be grateful to still have a job. But it’s important to recognize that it’s okay and necessary to acknowledge the grief of institutional loss. You may be under even more pressure to publish or do a different type of writing than before. These feelings are valid, and acknowledging them can help prevent them from holding back your writing. 

Loss of Colleagues

When you’re part of the academic community, it’s inevitable that you’ll experience the loss of a mentor or colleague. It can be especially challenging to write when you’re dealing with the loss of a co-author of a current project. While it’s honorable to want to finish the publication as a dedication to your mentor or colleague, it’s important to remember that writing when you’re emotionally distraught is difficult. Take the time you need to process the loss and find strength in your support system. It’s okay to put off publishing that project until you’ve worked through your grief. 

“Just because other people suffer worse forms of grief, it doesn’t mean that it diminishes the form of grief that you are feeling.”

“When we are trying to write about something that we are grieving about it is extremely, extremely difficult. Writing is emotional. That cannot be ignored. Writing is something that takes emotional energy. And the experience of putting your thoughts and analyses and your words down on paper is an emotional experience.

We’ve opened the waitlist for our next cohort of Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap®. Check out the program details and get on the waitlist here.

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1. Our 12-week Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap® program helps tenure-track womxn and nonbinary professors to publish their backlog of papers so that their voice can have the impact they know is possible. Get on the waitlist here!
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