Here is a fine essay, entitled "I Found Myself in a Dark Wood," by David Luzzi, from the NY Times. It is about finding solace in Dante's "Divine Comedy," after the author loses his wife:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/i-found-myself-in-a-dark-wood/?nl=opinion&emc=edit_ty_20131219
