Why are we afraid to talk about death and grief?
In a culture obsessed with productivity and positivity, conversations about death and grief are utterly absent and underrepresented. Instead of exploring the full emotional spectrum of loss, we're fed sanitized narratives through movies and shows. These depictions often reduce grief to a dramatic climax—a single cathartic cry or a few words of wisdom delivered at someone’s bedside—before the story moves on. What we’re left with is a hollow and shallow representation of one of life’s most profound experiences.
This lack of authentic dialogue and visual storytelling leaves us unprepared. When death touches our lives—as it inevitably will—we’re often at a loss for how to respond—what to do, what to say, or how to feel. We fall back on clichés because we’ve never been given the tools or language to face the raw, complex reality of loss.
At The Grievery, we believe it’s time to change that. By fostering real, nuanced conversations about grief and death, we can begin to fill this void with stories and truths that reflect the full beauty and depth of the human experience.
Honoring Real Stories
One of the ways we’re reframing this narrative is by featuring people who have experienced and captured the raw beauty and pain of grief through their gifts—creative expression or otherwise. This month, we’re honored to showcase the work of Da’Shaunae Marisa, an LA-based photographer and storyteller whose art provides a deeply personal window into the final days of her mother’s life.
Through her photography and accompanying letters, Da’Shaunae invites us into moments of tenderness, struggle, and profound love. Her images are not staged or glossed over; they are intimate and unflinchingly real. They tell a story that resonates deeply because it’s rooted in truth—a truth we so rarely see in mainstream portrayals of death and grief.
About Da’Shaunae Marisa
A Cleveland, Ohio native, Da’Shaunae Marisa is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work spans New York, Cleveland, and Los Angeles. Her practice blends storytelling, photography, and conceptual art to explore the beauty, complexity, and resilience of Black life in America and beyond.
Through her lens, Da’Shaunae examines themes of intergenerational connection, shared trauma, and collective healing. Her work invites viewers to confront raw truths while inspiring empathy and deeper self-awareness. Central to her portfolio is her acclaimed work, “No Woman is an Island,” an intimate exploration of the shared human experience of grief and death. This exhibit captures the tension between solitude and connection, offering a visual meditation on mourning as both a deeply personal and universal journey.
Her art has been featured in National Geographic, The New York Times, Aperture, Time, and other leading platforms. Commercially, she has collaborated with brands like Google, For Freedoms, Target, and Snapchat, merging her artistic vision with impactful campaigns.
In 2023, Da’Shaunae’s contributions to visual storytelling earned her a Google Image Equity Award Fellowship, recognizing her role in challenging and expanding representation within contemporary media.
Da’Shaunae’s work resonates with audiences by addressing universal themes of love, loss, and resilience. Each piece serves as an intimate reflection of life’s duality—pain and healing, isolation and connection—offering moments of solace and solidarity.
Why These Stories Matter
When we see stories like Da’Shaunae’s, we’re reminded of the power of art to bridge the gap between what is seen and what is felt. Her work challenges the idea that death is something to be feared or ignored; instead, it shows us that there is meaning and connection to be found even in the hardest moments.
At The Grievery, we are committed to creating spaces where these kinds of stories can be shared and honored. By featuring artists like Da’Shaunae, we hope to inspire a broader cultural shift: one where we can talk openly about death and grief without shame or fear. Where we can move beyond the reductive tropes of Hollywood and embrace the full spectrum of what it means to live, love, and lose.
Follow Along
We invite you to explore Da’Shaunae Marisa’s work as featured on our Instagram and reflect on your own experiences with grief and death. What experiences have shaped your understanding of death? What narratives do you wish existed to guide you through moments of loss?
