The subjunctive voice is often disparaged as no longer of any use in the English language. In this article the subjunctive is argued to have a special place in the construction of possibility for people who are grieving. A case study is illustrated to showcase a re-membering conversation; that is, one in which relational and community membership is considered to live on in a narrative sense after biological death. The argument is that such conversations can produce more sustenance for people in a time of grief than the usual emphasis on confronting “reality” and accepting loss.
