A healing journey. Laura Murphy, a Canadian woman, was waiting to marry Devon O'Grady when all of a sudden, tragedy struck Murphy's life. Just a month before the big day, O'Grady passed away in May after a sudden cardiac event. Eventually, she flew to England - the already booked couple's destination - and went on a solo honeymoon. Murphy began documenting her grieving process in TikTok and received massive support.
The decision didn't come as easy as it may be. Struck by the tragic passing of her husband, and despite her receiving the support of both her and her husband's family, she felt alone in her grief. She told The Washington Post: "It's very lonely and isolating because I knew no one my age who had lost a partner". She added: "I needed to find people who could relate because I wanted to know how to go on."
After finding other people who had gone through the same experience as she did, she found something "inspiring." Some of these people had traveled on their own on the pre-booked trips planned alongside their now-gone partners. "I also felt I needed to remove myself from my hometown and our house. I was just sort of sitting there for months not knowing what to do with myself," Murphy said.
A Grieving Trip
That is when she decided to document her journey to England, their honeymoon pre-booked destination. She, however, didn't expect her journey to receive the amount of support it did. "My fiancee died the month before our wedding and now I'm going on our honeymoon alone to see if life is worth living," said Murphy in her TikTok video. Said video has been viewed 3.8 million times, with more than three thousand comments.
Laura Murphy found a lot of comfort in this "grief community" and even met a woman in London who had experienced a similar loss. She said: "I know how painful and heartbreaking it's been for me and his whole family, but in another sense it's also sort of comforting because you know you're not alone."
In response to her video, one user said: "My husband died 3 months after our wedding. Welcome to the hot young widow's club. It sucks here, but we love you." Another user said "When our son died at birth, my husband and I took a trip a month after we called our "bereavemoon." I hope yours is healing."
