The characters in Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones must face the difficult task of overcoming the loss of Susie, their daughter and sister. Jack, Abigail, Buckley, and Lindsey deal with loss differently. However, it is Susie who has the most difficulty accepting the loss of her life. Several psychologists separate the grieving process into two main categories: intuitive and instrumental mourners. Intuitive mourners communicate their emotional distress and “experience, express, and adapt to grief on a very affective level” (Doka, para. 27). Instrumental mourners focus their attention on an activity, be it a job or a hobby, usually related to the loss (Doka par. 28). While each character deals with their grief differently, there is a common denominator: one's reaction affects all. Jack Salmon, Susie's father, is very vocal about his grief over losing his daughter. However, his initial reaction was very different. Upon learning that Susie's ski hat had been found, he immediately retreats upstairs because "[he] is too devastated to reach [Abigail] sitting on the carpet...he couldn't let her see it" (Sebold 32). Jack initially withdraws because he didn't know what to do or say to comfort his family and didn't want them to see him upset. This initial reaction, although small, is the first indicator of future marital problems. After recovering from the initial shock, Jack decides that he must seek justice for the sake of his daughter and allows this goal to completely overwhelm his life. He is both an intuitive and instrumental griever, experiencing outbursts of uncontrolled emotion and then channeling that emotion into catching the killer. He focuses his efforts in such a situation and...... middle of paper ...... on the family that would not have been able to survive. While they each handled their loss differently, one person's actions shaped another's decisions. Sebold expresses the need to constantly move forward despite loss to grow as an individual and also teaches readers to appreciate the little things that remind them that they are alive. Salmon may not be perfect, but neither are Heaven.Works CitedDoka, Kenneth J. Beyond Gender: Patterns of Grief. May 4, 2007. .Sebold, Alice. The beautiful bones. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2003.Lehman, Darrin R., et al. "Long-Term Effects of Sudden Bereavement: Marital and Parent-Child Relationships and Children's Reactions." Journal of Family Psychology 2.3 (1989): 344-367. PsyARTICLES. 4 May 2007. .“Amiable remains”. Magill's Literary Annual 2003. (2003). Literary reference center. May 4th 2007. .