Thanks for sharing, Carol.

One major turning point for me was when my father was killed by a drunk driver a little over a year ago. During his wake service, my very religiuos family all left the church and went across the street to my grandmother's house for food. At that moment, standing in 'god's house' with my father's body, I've never felt more alone and abandoned in my life. I felt it was such an insult for everyone to just up and leave him like that. The religious comfort is certainly not all it's cracked up to be.

I am sorry the priest had the presupposition to assume your husband would want the last rites. While it's difficult to be helpful to someone who is experiencing the death of a loved one, it only makes it worse to dig out the usual catch phrases, i.e. "he's in a better place", "it was god's will", "it happened for a reason", etc.

My best wishes as you cope with the loss and the new you that has emerged as a result.