Why Losing a Parent Hurts So Much, Even When You're a Grown Adult

Losing a parent hurts so much because you lose more than one thing at once: the first bond you ever formed, the role of being someone's child, and the one person who witnessed your whole story. If it's knocking you flat, you aren't grieving wrong. It's a sign of how deeply a parent is woven into who you are, at 25 or at 55.