Nineteen years old with an eleven-day-old baby, Lynn Haraldson’s world shatters when her husband, Bruce, is killed in a tractor-train collision.

She clings to the myth that time will heal her pain, but unacknowledged trauma informs many of her decisions, including an unplanned pregnancy and remaining in an abusive relationship. After two failed marriages and gaining and losing more than a hundred pounds twice, a health scare forces her to confront her grief.

Those in mourning often seek assurance that how they respond to grief also rings true for others. An Obesity of Grief challenges the false narrative that grief has a timeline and explores common reactions, offering hope that grief and love can live side by side.