Death is the unfortunate event that people on this Earth must accept as a part of life. Most can relate to death in some way, whether in relation to someone who has died or by being close to someone who has experienced this possible nightmare. Everyone can relate to death and grief in one way or another. According to the OED, grief is “…the act or fact of dying; the end of life; the definitive cessation of an individual's vital functions. Death and grief are forever present in the lives of death victims, with no known cure, their existence simply nullified to help ease the pain. As the grieving process becomes an essential component for families affected by death, a developing mindset can be forever shaped by the components of death, grief, and redemption. Alice Sebold “boldly ventures into the unimaginable territory [of]… death and murder. …” (Woods) as she depicts the journey of Susie Salmon who was raped and murdered at the age of fourteen by neighborhood question mark, George Harvey. The Sebold family slowly moves through the five categories of grief which include1. denial- refusal to recognize the existence of something: refusal to believe in something or to admit that something exists2. anger- a strong feeling of resentment and discontent3. negotiation- an agreement between two parties that sets the price of something4. depression- a state of unhappiness and despair5. acceptance – willingness to believe that something is true Sebold makes clear that these stages do not necessarily remain categorical, but that families facing loss embrace the grief and loss in various ways. If readers limit their understanding of grief to coping and the loss of a loved one, then they find they struggle to elucidate... middle of article...." Times Literary Supplement 5229 (June 20, 2003): 15. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism Ed. Tom Burns and Jeffrey W. Hunter Vol. 193. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Gale Web Literary Resources: Little, Brown, 2002. . Simpson, JA and ESC Weiner. Oxford English Dictionary: Clarendon, 1989. Womack, Kenneth by Alice Sebold. “Selection of contemporary literary criticism. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Gale Literary Resources. Web. February 11, 2014. Woods, Paula L. “Hold on and Let Go.” Los Angeles Times Book Review (July 7, 2002): 7. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Tom Burns and Jeffrey W. Hunter. Flight. 193. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Internet. February 25. 2014.