Responding to D. E. Balk (2004) about use of the term "recovery" to describe bereavement outcome, the authors take the view that this term is inadequate. Among the points raised are (a) the term recovery may imply a response to psychological disorder, whereas bereavement responses are generally normative; (b) recovery does not easily allow for transformative outcomes in bereavement, e.g., posttraumatic growth; and (c) terminology guides the thinking of bereaved persons, clinicians, and researchers in this area, and the term "recovery" may produce bias toward viewing bereavement as a disordered state. More neutral terms such as "change" or "resolution" avoid some of these pitfalls. (Contains 1 footnote.)