Grief Studies 📖

A zine about the stages of grief & decolonization

‘I started to see this relationship between how grief was undoubtedly an indicator of so much, it was like a current that moved through our bodies, charging certain parts of us—generally without our full comprehension. Yet, I realized, in my own life, the more you enquire after your own grief, the more that is revealed, and the easier it is to get to know yourself… the better a tool you become for revolution in your community and society. After further inquiry, I realized the grief stages are strangely synced with the decolonization stages… which felt apt. We, all, collectively, heal through decolonizing.’

- Fariha Róisín

In between the piscean liminality of winter & spring, we gathered to excavate our pain, to explore the edges of our sorrow, to reckon with death, and to encounter the depths of catharsis.

Back in 2024, I had the honor of taking a class with one of my favorite writers Fariha Róisín, in which she created a comparative framework between the 5 stages of dying by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and the processes of decolonization by Poka Laenui.

During those 8 weeks we read, wrote, and wept. Now, over a year later that etheric portal materializes into form.

With much tenderness, I’m humbled to share that this container has morphed into a zine, a 100+ page book that compiles the writing, poetry, letters, and visuals created by over two dozen global artists!

The presale will help us fund the printing of the soft cover book. Any profits after that will be donated to Palestinian mutual aid funds and my own family’s gofundme.

Pre-order is open through mid-July, with the first shipment of books going out late July/early August 2025. Both physical and digital options are available here.

The caliber of artists across disciplines that gravitated toward Fariha is breathtaking, fellow grievers I had the privilege to share virtual space with.

I’ve met many wonderful folks through this class with heartfelt writing I continue to read including Rukhsar Pallas, Radha Lath, Raya Marie Hazell, Kristin Pennington, Emory O’Malley… Some have become dear friends, others I’ve had the opportunity to meet through political organizing. I’m indebted to them all, especially the team of volunteers who designed these beautiful spreads and co-created this labor of love.

As Opal Ong so eloquently shared:

‘It’s kaleidoscopic. Queer. Full of care. Grief not as a solitary experience, but as a portal to memory, to collective healing, to other ways of being in relation. The pieces in this zine feel like offerings—sometimes fragmented, sometimes whole, always alive with honesty.

Together, we held one another as we responded to the wreckage of our collective griefs: ongoing genocides, shared ecocide, war, and the hurt, abuse, and trauma born from all of it.’

I hope you’ll accompany us through this symphony of grief, and that this collection can serve as a memento of our collective rupture.

Please consider purchasing a copy or sharing far & wide with your community, your support literally helps up bring this object into being!

Mangda Sengvanhpheng of BACII