This article challenges the belief in the necessity of grief work for adjustment to bereavement. Evidence from a prospective study of 30 widows & 30 widowers indicated that grief work is not always as essential as has been claimed. Widows who avoided confronting their loss did not differ in their depression scores from widows who had worked through their grief. However, for widowers, performance of grief work was associated with better adjustment. Implications of these findings are considered.