Years After Losing His Daughter, a Teddy Bear Brought Back a Precious Memory

For most of his life, Jake believed grief would arrive like a violent storm. He imagined raised voices, shattered objects, and a pain so loud that the whole world would immediately recognize it. He assumed sorrow would announce itself with the force of thunder and refuse to leave until it had destroyed everything familiar.

When loss finally entered his life, however, it did not behave that way. It came quietly, settled into the passenger seat of his truck, and followed him down roads that seemed to have no end.