This article describes common myths, as well as facts, about bereavement. The authors discuss the following reactions to bereavement: hallucinations of a dead spouse or parent, increases in physical illness & mortality, the over-prescription of benzodiazepines & antidepressants for bereaved persons, the idealizing of the dead & alienation of the living, & the increased risk of suicide, particularly in those who are bereaved by a spouse’s death. (VM)