There are many things the Americans do very well. The one thing that strikes me above all is the way famous Americans show their humanity and the magnificence of the human spirit during times of personal tragedy and distress. Conversations that American celebrities have with the world about their personal failings and tragedy is their unequivocal strength – it is therapeutic and reassuring. I know of very few countries in the world where the rich and famous share their grief in public. Barring a few exceptions (most recently Deepika Padukone’s struggle with depression) it does not happen in India. We pretend there is no elephant in the room.I read Sheryl Sandberg’s post on Facebook and was blown away. I have seen her in Davos, read her book Lean In. When her husband Dave Goldberg died in what appears to be a freak accident, tragedy struck the family. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Facebook was at a loss and she writes about it most eloquently in her post. From not knowing what to do, to the screams and shouts of her children, from personal void to crying asleep in her mother’s arms every night Sandberg has brought her personal tragedy home to all of us in a dignified way gently telling us it can happen to anyone. This is not a post about loss of hope, rather one of temporary hopelessness that all of us encounter in our lives.In the beginning she was angry, then empty, then frustrated and eventually she became sanguine. Every word, every conversation, every delay and every speed took on new meaning as they tried to rush her husband Dave Goldberg, the Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of Survey Monkey. She was angry when the ambulance transporting her already dead husband to the hospital was blocked by cars and traffic and she was frustrated she had not spent enough time understanding other people’s grief.On portfolio day in her children’s school when pupils put up their work on walls for parents to admire, she didn’t catch anyone eye, fearful of bursting into tears. Back at work people were afraid what to say, she writes. What do you say to a person who has lost a loved one in a tragedy? That it will be alright? No it will not be. It will never be the same so how do you say that? How do you say it will never be the same again in a positive way? Why must we always be positive and happy – where is the rule book? There is no rule book, but the heart has a compass and that seems to be where Sandberg seems headed.How are you today, an off the cuff coffee chat, suddenly seems heavy, even meaningless. The COO of Facebook is not an ordinary person and Sandberg bursts that myth in her post with elegance and grief. Yes, she is like the rest of us, scared, unsure and uncertain about the next steps, but the steps she will take with much more certainty when she is ready. In her grief, she takes time to write about people who have less, women who are left alone to fend for themselves at the death of a spouse.I admire Americans and who go out and advocate for a cause whether it be seat belts, cancer or mental health. Fund-raisers for scientific research, pushing their leaders for action, especially in the medical field are areas where they excel. Death may come announced or sudden and Sandberg quotes a one-line prayer from a friend who is also a rabbi. It says “Let me not die while I am still alive.” There is no end to grief and there is no end to love, the lady writes as she hopes to put a personal tragedy to serve others and her family. “When I can, I want to choose life and meaning,” writes Sandberg.Read her post here. Picture Courtesy: World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland via Wikimedia Commons