Grief is like a car with the check engine light on: you know something’s off, but aren’t sure what’s happening under the hood.

The archetypes are a diagnostic tool, a way to begin creating an owner’s manual for what you and your grief need now. You might see yourself in one, or in pieces of several. Your “gear” may even shift with the season or circumstances.

Identifying your archetype is the first step in taking the driver’s seat of grief.

Take what resonates, leave what doesn’t, and notice what sparks something in you.