Anticipatory grief

noun

Grief felt before a feared loss has happened, while the outcome is still uncertain and part of you is already living beside the worst one.

Also known as pre-loss grief

Anticipatory grief is grief that begins before the loss itself, while the outcome is still uncertain and the mind has already moved into the room with the worst possibility.

In Chapter 12, Timea recognised the term while waiting to learn whether her mother had died. The words did not remove the fear. They gave it a name, and the name gave her somewhere to put it for an hour.

That is what a useful definition can do. It does not solve the experience. It tells a person they are not failing at it.