The Sky and Earth Know

The Sky and Earth Know

Share this post

The Sky and Earth Know
The Sky and Earth Know
"I'll mourn you for 100 days"
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Culture & Traditions

"I'll mourn you for 100 days"

or how the Romani process grief

Martina Petkova's avatar
Pepi Mustafov's avatar
Martina Petkova
and
Pepi Mustafov
Mar 25, 2024
∙ Paid
4

Share this post

The Sky and Earth Know
The Sky and Earth Know
"I'll mourn you for 100 days"
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
2
Share

How long does grief last? How long “should” you mourn a loved one who has passed away? And how, exactly, should you mourn them? What should you do? When is it appropriate to “move on”?

These questions have no answer. Or to be more specific, the answer is always personal to the individual dealing with a loss, and it is revealed to them over time. Nobody knows in advance how long they’ll grieve. Nobody knows what grief will feel like. Even if they have already lost someone before.

“Grief is such a lonely thing. There is no-one in it with you - others may grieve for the same soul, but they do not grieve exactly for what you also grieve. No-one has lost precisely what you have lost. Not exactly, never exactly.”

Susan Fletcher

Modern-day societies have abandoned the ancient ways to process grief and make sense of death. We refuse to look at death and do our very best to suppress the tidal waves of grief because they tend to put is in paralysis when the culture around us demands that we keep mo…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to The Sky and Earth Know to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Martina Petkova and Pepi Mustafov
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More