The Dead Husband Project” by Sarah Meehan Sirk

The Dead Husband Project” by Sarah Meehan Sirk is a poignant short story that explores love, loss, and the quiet complexities of marriage through an unusual lens.

Summary:

The story centers on a married woman who begins preparing for her husband’s eventual death while he is still alive. The “project” she undertakes is not morbid, but rather a deeply emotional and psychological exercise in anticipating grief and understanding her own attachment to him.

She imagines life after his death—how she will act, what she will feel, how she might cope—and even rehearses her reactions. Through these private rituals, she tries to gain control over something uncontrollable: mortality and emotional pain.

As the story unfolds, her husband remains unaware of her inner project. Their daily life continues in small, ordinary gestures—shared meals, conversations, and quiet companionship—but her secret thoughts create a haunting emotional distance.

The “project” becomes a meditation on how love coexists with the inevitability of loss. It reveals how people attempt to prepare for heartbreak, even though true preparation is impossible.

In the end, the story is not about death itself, but about how the anticipation of loss deepens one’s awareness of love and presence. It highlights the fragile beauty of human connection and the futility of trying to master grief before it arrives.