PHILADELPHIA -- When Janice Tosto's best friend, Bill Lottmen, died just three months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2021, Tosto was left swimming in grief. She'd lost loved ones before, but this pain was different and all-consuming.
"I just went into shock. Those first few weeks were so hard," she said. "I would say, 'I just want to die.' "
In her search to comprehend the depths of her grief, Tosto, 57, of Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood, dove into reading everything she could about death, mourning, and loss. As she did, one thing stood out.
