L osing your father is one of the most difficult tragedies and transitions for any person, young or old, to experience.

Beneath these discussions lies a profound yearning—a hallmark of grief—for the father archetype: a protective, powerful, mature, and caring energy that provides guidance and security.

Letters sent by my father to my mother at her family home in Chicago during World War II, written in his own hand on US Navy letterhead, the precise print of an engineer, angled slightly to the right.