This collection of writings is organized into three sections. Section 1; Dad ; a collection of writings looking back on my fathers death, now 11 years past. Section 2; Mom ; a collection of writing for my mothers death, now almost 2 years past. Section 3; Aftermath ; writings looking forward to what is next, and how grief will change looking towards the future. 56 seconds of silence comes from the concept that grief is a complex mix of processing and emotions. Meaning; in the thick of the darkness, the emotions and experiences you have, feel like they are lasting forever. While at the same time, only seconds have passed. 56 seconds of silence is a play on the feeling that your sense of time is dulled and sometimes lost completely in the thick of grief. In those seconds, are where your most profound feelings arise and where the healing begins. My hope is that this will validate the feelings of other people's experiences of loss of parental figures. As well as to help open the eyes of people who have no idea how to begin to imagine the feelings of grief. This is for you. The child or adult sitting alone in grief, looking for a way to describe the depth of emotions to people around you who just don't seem to "get it".