They come from very different backgrounds and have taken different paths in life, but Joe Biden, Sheryl Sandberg and Prince Harry have one big thing in common: they’ve each dealt with profound tragedy in their lives.
The public nature of their grief has given them a unique opportunity to help others through similar situations. “When I talk to people in mourning, they know I speak from experience,” Biden wrote in his book Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose. “They know I have a sense of the depth of their pain.”
Death is an inevitable part of life, and the healing process is multifaceted and different for each person. But as these three stories show, sharing experiences of grief and perseverance can be be a form of generosity and service — both to those who are suffering and to the person doing the sharing.