Eileen L. Tapper

When Auntie Died Eileen L. Tapper

As a mother to six-year-old Amiyah and a therapist, when the pandemic kept us away from her Auntie, I recorded her emotions and thoughts in the year following her death. When the time was right, we sat down together and pieced together her story. These are Amiyah's words, edited by me, written into a story. There were many factors impacting the ability to process the death of a loved one during the pandemic. But the most significant of all was the lack of physical contact with loved ones and friends, family visits in hospitals and nursing homes, viewings, funerals, and for the young child, a means to make death real.