Nora McInerny: We don't "move on" from grief. We move forward with it
Nora McInerny: No superamos el duelo; seguimos adelante con él
Nora McInerny makes a living talking to people about life's hardest moments. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
mi padre murió de cáncer.
my husband Aaron died
mi esposo Aaron falleció
un glioblastoma en etapa cuatro,
with stage-four glioblastoma,
for brain cancer.
para cáncer cerebral.
about this period of my life,
de esta etapa de mi vida
it's going to happen to you.
in this specific order or at this speed,
ni en este mismo orden ni rapidez,
that I have seen will stun you:
los sorprenderán:
a 100 percent chance of dying.
un 100 % de probabilidades de morir.
to talk about death and loss,
se convirtió en mi profesión,
because it's pretty easy to recap,
muy fácil de resumir,
that other people have experienced.
experimentadas por otras personas.
and I wish I made more money, but ...
poder ganar más dinero, pero...
I started a little nonprofit.
y abrí una empresa sin ánimos de lucro.
with the uncomfortable,
más a gusto con lo desagradable,
especially if it's someone else's grief.
si se trata del duelo de otra persona.
that I started with my friend Moe,
grupo que empecé con mi amiga Moe,
las jóvenes viudas ardientes.
your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend,
ya sea marido, esposa, novia, novio
si estabas casado--
are just going to look around
of friends of friends
de amigos de amigos
who's gone through something similar,
que pasó por algo similar,
towards each other
and not get your sad on other people.
no trasmitan su tristeza a otra gente.
married, partnered,
heterosexuales, casados o en pareja,
aren't ready or willing to hear yet.
no están preparadas o dispuestas a oír.
en el sexo. ¿Es normal?".
about sex, is that normal?"
of the Property Brothers?"
and I see old people holding hands,
y veo a ancianos tomados de la mano,
been together for decades,
han estado décadas juntos,
through together,
over who should take out the trash ...
sobre quién debe sacar la basura...
that we have in the group
que tenemos en el grupo
the world that is grief-adjacent
que es adyacente al duelo
of unscientific studies,
en los estudios no científicos,
The Hot Young Widows Club
las jóvenes viudas ardientes
when your person died?" They did.
su persona querida?". Lo recordaban.
people said to you?"
los demás les dijeron?".
people say a lot of things,
la gente dice muchas cosas,
rápidamente el primer lugar.
a very handsome man named Matthew,
con un hombre muy apuesto llamado Matthew,
in our blended family,
en nuestra familia combinada,
of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Minnesota, en EE. UU.
and I don't even touch them.
que se abren sin tocarlas.
I've never once said it that way.
nunca lo dije de ese modo.
anyone else say it that way.
decirlo de ese modo.
language is trash, so ...
porquería de idioma, así que...
who, like, speaks it
that makes sense -- good job.
que tenga sentido... buen trabajo.
really good, but I haven't "moved on."
pero no he "superado el duelo".
and I hate that phrase so much,
mucho esa frase,
and love are just moments
y su muerte son solo momentos
and that I probably should.
I slip so easily into the present tense,
fácilmente al tiempo presente,
that made we weird.
que todo el mundo lo hace.
or because we're forgetful,
o porque somos olvidadizos,
we love, who we've lost,
que amamos, que perdimos,
that he was before,
people try to tell me that he would be.
intenta decirme que él estaría.
en la labor que hago,
who share none of his DNA,
no comparten nada de su ADN,
because I had Aaron
porque tuve a Aaron
con Matthew,
con quien Matthew se quiso casar.
that Matthew wanted to marry.
in his favorite river in Minnesota,
en su río favorito en Minnesota,
you fit into a plastic bag --
cabes en una bolsa de plástico-
stuck to my fingers.
in the water and rinsed them,
en el agua y enjuagarlas
than I had already lost,
más de lo que ya había perdido,
that he would always be a part of me.
de que siempre fuera una parte mía.
fill himself with poison for three years,
llenarse de veneno durante tres años,
a little bit longer with you,
por un tiempo más,
person he was the night you met
sano que era la noche que lo conociste
who isn't even two years old yet,
ni siquiera tiene dos años,
on the last day of his life,
en el último día de su vida,
in a few hours,
en unas horas,
está hecho. Adiós".
finally, like really fall in love
enamoras, realmente te enamoras
I've been wrong this entire time.
equivocado todo este tiempo;
or a reality show -- it's so quiet,
un programa televisivo, es tan tranquilo,
that connects the two of us
even when he's gone."
incluso cuando él ya no está.
freezing and he's so warm,
se congelan y él es tan cálido--
and shove them up his shirt ...
debajo de su camisa
I laid in bed with Aaron
en la cama junto a Aaron
if my hands were cold,
mis manos estaban frías,
I would ever do that.
que haría eso.
is always going to be sad.
siempre será triste.
and I'm just a hologram.
y sea un holograma.
is always going to make me laugh.
lo conocí siempre me hará reír.
with all of these other emotions.
con todas estas otras emociones.
mi marido actual
among the people who love me,
entre los que me amaban,
we can all go home.
y podemos volver a casa.
is so appealing even to me,
I had gotten that, too, but I didn't.
obtenido, pero no fue así.
I love you, honey --
--te amo, cariño--
it was like an alternate universe,
fue como un universo alternativo,
own adventure" books from the '80s
los años 80 "elija su propia aventura"
"Would you like to think about Aaron?
"¿Te gustaría pensar en Aaron?
just get in there," and I did.
solo entra", y eso hice.
those two plots were unfurling at once,
se manifestaron al mismo tiempo,
really helped me realize the enormity
realmente a darme cuenta de la magnitud
that my love for Aaron
que mi amor hacia Aaron
are not opposing forces.
no son fuerzas opuestas.
they were like ... frankly.
y ellos eran.... francamente...
all around the world,
en todo el mundo
and traumatic losses every day.
profundamente traumáticas y formativas.
that's ever happened to them.
que les ha pasado.
of someone they love,
years ago, even decades ago.
años atrás, incluso décadas.
around this loss
have kept spinning.
a total stranger,
a una desconocida total,
just as much as the joyful ones.
como los momentos felices.
la última tarjeta de pésame
at the people around us
a nuestro alrededor
and tell them to "move on," do we?
de la vida, no les decimos: "Supéralo".
"Congratulations on your beautiful baby,"
"Felicidades por tu hermoso bebé",
"Another birthday party? Get over it."
"¿Otra fiesta de cumpleaños? Supéralo".
or watching "The Wire" on HBO,
o mirar "The Wire" en HBO,
until you get it, until you do it.
y hasta que lo pasas.
once it's your love or your baby,
con tu amado o con tu bebé,
and your front row at the funeral,
en primera fila en el funeral,
is not a moment in time,
no es un instante en el tiempo,
by something chronic.
grief feels like it could be.
el dolor se siente como tal.
los unos en los otros
to remind one another
recordar los unos a los otros
a los otros para recordar,
multifuncional.
you'll be grieving, and able to love
que estarás afligido y podrás amar
is going to laugh again and smile again.
está de luto va a reír y sonreír de nuevo.
they'll even find love again.
encontrarán amor de nuevo.
they're going to move forward.
that they've moved on.
que lo hayan superado.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nora McInerny - Author, podcast hostNora McInerny makes a living talking to people about life's hardest moments.
Why you should listen
Nora McInerny speaks from experience and empathy, having lost her second baby, her father and her husband over the course of six weeks at age 31. She is the best-selling author of the memoir It’s Okay To Laugh, Crying Is Cool Too, the host of the award-winning podcast "Terrible, Thanks for Asking" and the founder of the nonprofit Still Kickin. She contributes words to Elle, Cosmopolitan, Buzzfeed, Time, Slate and Vox, where she's often tapped for her essays highlighting the emotional landscape and humor in complex topics, like the financial impacts of healthcare and grief in a digital age.
McInerny is a master storyteller known for her dedication to bringing heart and levity to the difficult and uncomfortable conversations most of us try to avoid, and also for being very tall. She was voted "Most Humorous" by the Annunciation Catholic School Class of 1998.
Nora McInerny | Speaker | TED.com