The Grief We Don’t Teach: Virtual Reality as a Tool for Understanding Child Loss

This talk explores the unique experience of parental bereavement and how immersive storytelling can deepen understanding of this often-misunderstood form of grief. Year of the Cicadas is a virtual reality experience that guides participants through a parent’s seventeen-year journey of loss and remembrance, blending interactive storytelling with spatial audio, personal artifacts, and archival recordings. Through this lens, grief is presented as an evolving process of meaning-making and connection. The session invites reflection on how virtual reality can open new pathways for empathy, education, and support.