Ambiguous grief may be a term that you have never heard of. It refers to a continuous grief… a painful journey that goes on and on, with no ending in sight. Friends and families coping with events where a body is not recovered may experience this. As an example, thousands of bodies in Japan remain […]
Read More...Ambiguous Grief
Ambiguous grief may be a term that you have never heard of. It refers to a continuous grief… a painful journey that goes on and on, with no ending in sight. Friends and families coping with events where a body is not recovered may experience this. As an example, thousands of bodies in Japan remain […]
Read More...More than a Band-Aid
Hearts are broken every day. It’s true…people can die from a broken heart, but more often than not, they live. As they move one foot in front of another, this one question burns inside, “How will I survive?” Healing a broken heart is about more than putting a Band-Aid on it. It takes effort and […]
Read More...The Gift of Hope
I consider myself a “hope generator.” I believe that people need hope to do the things they need to do when recovering from loss and tragedy. Imparting hope to them isn’t as easy as it sounds. First of all, the person has to be ready to receive hope. If they can’t take it in, they […]
Read More...Making the Choice to Survive
Each day we make choices about mundane things: “What should we have for dinner… pizza or Chinese?” Then there are times we must make a choice on big things: “Should we buy a house or keep renting?” Rarely do we realize that we can choose anything we want and that it is in our choices […]
Read More...Don’t Eat Your Grief
The one thing in life that I know for sure is this – the journey takes unexpected turns! Our best-laid plans for success, happiness and eternal bliss can be derailed when unforeseen events or situations occur. No one chooses pain. It would be rare for a bride and groom to exchange vows anticipating that their […]
Read More...The Healing Power of Love and Friendship
Love and friendship are the underpinning of anyone’s journey in life. We all need friends, who are true and accept us for who we are—warts and all. We need and want love in life. Moreover, I believe each of us wants to be a good friend and to love others too. We are human and […]
Read More...When to Stop Visiting the Grave
This could solicit a variety of responses and my guess will be that the answer depends on whether you have endured a profound loss in your life or not. People visit the graves of their loved one because it brings them comfort. It helps them to feel connected to them. And it’s a visual reminder […]
Read More...Hospice at Home
My mom wanted to die at home. It was important for her to be in her own environment, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. We obliged because we wanted the end of her life to be meaningful and to end on her terms. From the time she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer to her […]
Read More...Healthy Helpers
People naturally want to help others. To be an effective helper, you have to be a “healthy” helper. As mentioned in the blog on Caregiver Grief, the tendency when helping others is that we put 150% into it. This means that not only is there nothing to give to our family and friends, it also […]
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It is an honor to share my journey through grief with you. Although my story is that ~ my story~ it is important for me to acknowledge that many people shared in the losses that I share here. Each of us had a different experience and each of us grieved and mourned in a unique way. While I empathize and truly shared in the pain of others who were also affected by these tragedies, I can only speak for myself and share...