So Alone

As someone who loves rock and roll, I am fascinated by musicians and the  lives they have led. Many of them are in pain from traumas suffered from childhood. One of my favorites is Johnny Thunders, the broken guitarist from the New York Dolls. One of his songs, "So Alone," kind of sums up the feelings of someone who  has experienced sibling loss, especially if there are no other siblings left to share the experience. Although there may be many people around who desire to be supportive, it is hard to shake the feeling that no one really "gets it." Of course, this feeling is, in part, symptomatic of the depression and shock that overtakes one after the death of a sibling, there is some truth in it. Sibling loss survivors are "disenfranchised" grievers in many respects. That is why it is so important for those of us who have experienced bereavement after the death of a brother or sister find each other. We have walked in each others' shoes. We do, in every sense, "get" the bombardment of feelings and thoughts that lie in the wake of the pain of sibling loss.