Week 2: Chapter 1 — A Sudden, Shattering Loss

1.Sittser describes the accident scene and the surreal hours that followed with remarkable clarity and restraint. What details stood out to you most, and why do you think he chose to include them?

2.He reflects on the experience of absorbing three simultaneous losses — his mother, his wife, and his daughter — and notes that loss of this magnitude is almost impossible to comprehend all at once. How does the mind and heart protect itself in such moments? Have you ever experienced shock as a kind of mercy?

3.Sittser is a theologian and professor of religion at Whitworth University. Did knowing his professional background make his grief more or less surprising to read? What does it tell us that intellectual or theological knowledge does not insulate us from the full force of loss?