When my dad died I woke up the next day on a new Earth that was less bright, where I cared less about all things including myself. I don’t think it gets better, you just gradually forget your old home.
As for the article's metaphor I thought they were going with another obvious direction - a broken glass is just suddenly, irreversibly gone.
I wish the author had laid out a timeline, because it feels like this was written early on in their grieving process, and I think the whole appeal of the stages model is that your perspective/understanding will change as time moves on.