Anticipatory grief
The five stages namely, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her model of grief describe the process by which people undergo after a loss. Anxiety, dread, guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, and feelings of being overwhelmed are also common. However, it is important to note that anticipatory grief is not simply normal grief begun earlier.
Grief (novel)
Nick's Mother - Nick's mother (nameless) was a mutual friend of the narrator and the narrator's landlord. She and the narrator trade their individual views on grief and reminisce about her son, who died of AIDS several years prior. While the narrator seems to harbor more romantic views on grief and the dead, Nick's mother entertains a more scientific view, which is illustrated when she states that “when we die, our bodies and brains have stopped. Hence there is no consciousness. Hence we cannot wake up. It's merely a false extrapolation people want to make because they cannot bare the thought of their own extinction” (117).