Death by Landscape by Margaret Atwood

     Grief is an emotion that each person must deal with at some point in time. Grief can be triggered by anything from the separation of parents to the death of  loved one. What if this grief could haunt a person so badly that the effects are psychological? What if this grief made one question their own ability to think an their own perception their memories? In Death by Landscape by Margaret Atwood, grief is shown as an emotion that never really leaves someone, but stay with them forever. The character, Lois, deals with grief on a day to day basis after the death of a friend at summer camp.
     While on a canoe trip with a group, Lois forms  very close friendship with a young girl named Lucy. Throughout the story, the narrator, Lois, talks about the association of Lucy going missing and the water. It is not said in the story whether or not the water has anything to do with Lucy's disappearance. The pivotal moment of the story comes when Cappie, the counselor of the camp tries to place the blame of Lois for Lucy's disappearance. Cappie is worried about how the news of the missing girl will ruin the business of the camp. "Were you mad at Lucy?" Cappie asks Lois in a voice that is almost encouraging her to go along with this story. This leaves Lois even more distraught, which confirms Cappie's theory. Ever since that even, Lois now can only remember bits and pieces of her life. She cannot even remember "having her two boys in the hospital". It seems that her memories keep taking her back to that moment at the lake because of other key points throughout the story. She seems to associate herself with the water from her paintings to the house where she lives now. From that moment, she has never been able to fully trust herself.