Losing a loved one to addiction and the unsurmountable grief that follows cannot be aptly defined by linear, literal description. In Once a Storm , acclaimed short fiction writer Janet Trull nimbly and thoughtfully depicts the loss experienced by a parent who loses a child. When there are no words that can do the heart justice and the waves continue push and tug, the author offers up that which will not fade nor be washed away: the certainty of love.