Completing grief, after death or divorce, can take years, and then lead to the reawakening of new love and refreshed hope. A dirge can become a wedding song.

I’ve witnessed great love and wonderful joy at second, third weddings,and seen families embrace new members in ways they never thought possible. I’ve seen men and women, having been pulled through the ringer of a cruel divorce, or the trauma of prolonged illness and then death of a beloved spouse, learn to laugh, trust, dance, and really love again.

Life often offers multiple chances at love, and the best candidates, for second marriages, may well be those who were happily married but who lost a spouse to illness, and those who have emerged from divorce without lingering bitterness.

Yes, life is full of hope for those with the eyes to find it, and the courage to embrace it. May those who embark on new love, having emerged from the ashes of death or divorce, find joy and fulfillment in very large, overflowing doses.