Nights are particularly difficult for many survivors, especially those of us who live alone it is then, when things are quiet and the telephone doesn't ring, that the wrenching loneliness sets in, the missing, the longing, the torment of having to get through another night of grief.

We can make it easier ourselves if we see that night as it really is. It isn't endless. It isn't a dark foreboding thing that will swallow us up. It is only a collection of hours, which are a collection of minutes. And is through one minute at a time that we must persevere. We can do that.

It doesn't matter whether I have a huge amount of courage or a little courage; all I need is the courage to get through one minute at a time, and I can certainly do that. Regardless of how frightening or cruel a night alone can seem.

From the Book A TIME TO GRIEVE by CAROL STAUDACHER