The Many Faces of Grief

Behind the Mask

When Tanis’s medically-fragile son Skjel passed away at age 5, she felt anger and guilt, and even questioned herself. With a background in writing, in her grief Tanis turned to writing and found it therapeutic. Her “Attack of the Redneck Mommy” blog, about her life experiences, became widely famous and won numerous awards.

Tanis is warm and funny. In talking with her, I saw someone who’s also serious and contemplative, and who uses humour as a way to cope with her sadness. I decided to portray her as sitting at a computer, hiding behind a mask; i.e. it’s a buffer between her and the world.