When the trial against the drunk driver who killed Marley was closing, we were given the opportunity to write our victim impact statement. We were able to tell the judge the ways in which our lives had been shattered and torn.
I wrote mine amidst the greatest sadness and anxiety.
What if all grievers wrote a victim impact statement?
I just came across my statement and started to wonder what if all grievers could write a similar statement? What if the statement served as a tool to share the injustice of our/your/the loss? Aren’t we all a victim to our loss with or without an actual crime?
I started to think about the statement I would write for losing my dad and how I would want my judge to hear that it’s such a ripoff for him to have died. It’s such a “crime” against my heart that my dad wasn’t able to see all of his grandchildren grow or take loving care of my mom into their old age.
I would want my judge to know that I miss him terribly and my life isn’t okay without my dad.
Now, mind you, there is no actual judge, but if there were, what the judge would need to know is that I am hurting, I am learning to live with this new reality and it is hard.
What does your victim impact statement say?
What does your victim impact statement say?
What does your judge need to know about your new reality?
Can this loss or grief be put into words and is there value for you in naming the pain, the hole left behind, and allowing for your grief to make you a victim to your love for the one you’re missing?
Share your answers in the comments.
