2.7 Ambiguous Loss: Loss Without a Funeral (Part 2)

Life hit Pat and Tammy McLeod hard when their son Zach collapsed on a high school football field; he had sustained a severe brain injury. This accident led the family into the world of ambiguous loss. Ambiguous loss is a loss that occurs without closure or clear understanding. This kind of loss leaves a person searching for answers, and thus complicates and delays the process of grieving, and often results in unresolved grief.

“Type One: Occurs when there is physical absence with psychological presence. This includes situations when a loved one is physically missing or bodily gone.

Type Two: Occurs when there is psychological absence with physical presence. In this second type of ambiguous loss, a loved one is psychologically absent—that is, emotionally or cognitively missing.

Pat and Tammy McLeod serve as Harvard Chaplains for Cru, an interdenominational Christian ministry. Tammy is also the Director of College Ministry at Park Street Church in Boston. She received her MA in Spiritual Formation from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Pat holds an MA in Theological Studies from the International School of Theology, and an MA in Science and Religion and a PhD in Practical Theology from Boston University. Pat and Tammy have been married for more than three decades and are parents to four grown children.

You can find and purchase Pat and Tammy's book Hit Hard at:

https://patandtammymcleod.com/

Visit our blog for more details on the interviewer and interviewees at https://tckvof.wordpress.com/

Music: Mattioli Prelude by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD) (c) copyright 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial  (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/50958 Ft: Mario Mattioli (Keyborg)