Grief is a universal human experience, a powerful force that can profoundly impact our daily lives. It’s a complex tapestry of emotions, often messy, surprising, revealing, and honest, all at once. This complexity is precisely what the SBS comedy, A Beginner’s Guide to Grief, so deftly captures.
Written by and starring Anna Lindner, and directed by Renée Mao, this series of six 12-minute episodes follows Harriet “Harry” Wylde as she navigates the turbulent waters of grief. Harry experiences the unimaginable loss of both her parents to cancer within a single week – first her mother, and then her father on the day of her mother’s funeral. The series title cleverly alludes to the classic five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance), which also serve as titles for the first five episodes.
Aunty Barb (Georgina Naidu) embodies the “brave face” mentality, attempting to offer Harry solace with platitudes about her father being “now in the arms of our Lord and Saviour.” Meanwhile, Harry’s very Christian Uncle Trev (Rory Walker) and unsettling cousin Isaiah (Carlo Ritchie) take over the funeral preparations, subtly implying that men are better equipped to handle such emotional situations.
One of the series’ most compelling relationships is between Harry and her foster-sister Daisy (Cassandra Sorrell), a pyromaniac with a past involving arson and incarceration. Though their bond is far from perfect, Daisy offers a refreshing contrast to the suffocating presence of the rest of the family.
Daisy offers Harry a different kind of support in A Beginner’s Guide to Grief.
The Rise of the “Traumedy”
A Beginner’s Guide to Grief joins a growing trend of contemporary series, such as Netflix’s Never Have I Ever (2020-) and After Life (2019-2022), that center on grieving characters grappling with loss and its aftermath. These shows have been dubbed “traumedies,” a genre that explores profound feelings of loss and pain through a comedic lens.
Traumedies offer viewers a unique opportunity for catharsis, allowing them to process their own feelings of loss and grief, particularly during times of social and cultural upheaval. They acknowledge that joy and grief can, and often do, coexist.
Traumedies such as A Beginner’s Guide to Grief acknowledge the coexistence of joy and grief.
Finding Humor in the Midst of Tragedy
Like its international counterparts, A Beginner’s Guide to Grief encourages open and honest conversations about death, dying, and grieving, urging us to acknowledge these experiences rather than suppress our feelings in an attempt to appear strong.
The series’ most humorous element is a self-help audio tape on grief, which Harry listens to in each episode. This tape, featuring the brilliant voice of Brett Goldstein (of Ted Lasso fame), provides a bizarre and welcome distraction for both Harry and the audience. Each stage of grief is described in increasingly ridiculous ways, offering moments of levity amidst the heavier themes. For example, the tape describes grief as:
an overwhelming emotion not unlike […] sitting down to your favourite breakfast cereal but then pouring its milky sweet contents over your lap, smashing the porcelain bowl with nothing but your forehead, and slowly swallowing shard after jagged shard of the broken remains until you realise you are indeed bleeding from your stomach.
A truly visceral, yet strangely poetic, description.
Beyond Acceptance: The Ongoing Journey
While the sixth and final episode, “The Next Chapter,” initially feels somewhat redundant, it ultimately serves an important purpose. Lindner wisely acknowledges that reaching “acceptance” does not signify the end of grief.
The grieving process is complex and cannot be magically resolved by the end of a television series. Life must go on for Harry, but her healing journey is far from over.
Throughout the series, flashbacks are interwoven with present-day scenes, juxtaposing happier memories with the harsh realities of cancer. This adds depth and nuance to Harry’s experience.
The show is semi-autobiographical, drawing on Lindner’s personal experiences with loss. Her father died from cancer, and her mother was also diagnosed with the disease. This personal connection lends authenticity and emotional resonance to the story. As Lindner herself has said, “I want people to know that grief and joy don’t just co-exist, but they belong together.”
While A Beginner’s Guide to Grief may not offer an entirely groundbreaking perspective on grief, it is a valuable addition to the traumedy genre and a shining example of contemporary Australian short-form storytelling. It’s a reminder that it’s okay to laugh, to cry, and to feel everything in between as we navigate the complexities of loss.
