The sudden loss of a loved one can trigger debilitating grief. Dawn Bell is hoping her experience with tragedy can help others better understand and deal with the pain.

Matt and Dawn Bell's love was a fairytale romance. It only took one date in college.

"Five days (after that date), I told my roommate that that was the man I was going to marry," Dawn Bell said.

Matt and Dawn Bell eventually married. He pursued his dream of flying as a pilot for UPS. Together, they started a family with Ava.

Matt Bell eventually left on assignment for UPS in Dubai.

On Sept. 30, 2010, Matt Bell called during a busy school morning.

"It was odd that he called because he never called at those times because he knew it was such a scramble," Dawn Bell said. "But, we just chatted quickly, said (I love you) and hung up."

Hours later, the cargo on Matt Bell's UPS Flight 6 caught fire shortly after the plane took off. The pilot was overcome by smoke and, as co-pilot, Matt Bell struggled to land the crippled aircraft. But the flight controls were too damaged.

UPS Flight 6 overshot the runway and crashed in flames.

"It never occurred to me ... that this could have happened," Dawn Bell said. "It just — I just did not think it ... it would ever happen this way."

The nature of the tragedy — in a faraway land — kept closure at bay.

"There was an investigation happening over there, and his remains could not be sent back," Dawn Bell said. "It was delayed and delayed and delayed because of the investigation. So, for me, it took longer to actually believe it happened because I couldn't have the funeral."

In her grief, Dawn Bell began to write down her feelings. The pages evolved into the journal she wished she would have had when confronted with the emotional shock.

"I wrote down things that were happening with Eva and crazy thoughts that were running through my head and things that people said that were unintentionally hurtful," Dawn Bell said.

Dawn Bell has self-published, "Wife of the Deceased," in the hope that grievers won't feel so alone.

"I hope it will," she said, "because it is so completely candid and honest and raw. And I could not find a resource like that when I needed it."

The majority of the proceeds from Dawn Bell’s book will go to The Porch Light Project, which is fighting child sex trafficking in Florida.