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End-of-Life Decision-Making Is a Peace-Finding Mission

Posted on December 14, 2014 - by Julie Nierenberg

Be present. Be prepared. Be clear. Since publishing a memoir about my dad’s end of life, I received an outpouring of support from others who experienced the loss of loved ones in their own lives. Many sent heart-felt comments and poignantly precious memories. Some sent books they wrote as part of their own journey with grief. I am deeply touched and honored to receive the offerings of each new connection. Some weeks, I’ve received so many such word-gifts that I feel like the “Keeper of the Stories.” This distinction draws me to a new purpose: compiling perspectives that inform others […]

Holiday Letter to a Young Widow

Posted on December 13, 2014 - by Tambre Leighn

Dearest Heart, This season reminds me of endings, but also of a December long ago that was a beginning. After one of the most challenging periods of Gary’s cancer and time at an alternative clinic, he returned looking much healthier. With both of us rested, we could breathe, share a beautiful Christmas, and re-embrace each other and our marriage. We were more in love than ever. It was also the beginning of the end. Sometimes, it’s best not to know. If the me that’s now thirteen Christmases without Gary could whisper in your ear, I would share some insights to […]

Seeking Support After a Child-Loss

Posted on December 11, 2014 - by Lora Mercado

After a loved one has passed on and the funeral is over, the cards stop coming in the mail and it feels like the rest of the world has moved on. For the newly bereaved, this can be the loneliest time of all. Many times family and friends will pull away because they feel uncomfortable seeing you cry. Others avoid talking about your loved one altogether, when that is all you want to do. Hearing the name of the one who has died can bring comfort to the bereaved. After my infant son died, I was completely immobilized with pain […]

Seven Ways to Survive the Holidays During Bereavement

Posted on December 9, 2014 - by Doris Jeanette

If you have recently lost a loved one, you may think your holidays are going to be painful, difficult and unbearable. However, facing the holidays alone for the first time does not have to depressing. When you get depressed, you are not allowing yourself to fully grieve and feel your emotions. If you look underneath the surface and seek meaning in your grief experience, you create rich, deep and meaningful holidays for yourself. Take each day as it comes. One step at a time. Learning how to stay with yourself in bereavement will lead to better mental and emotional health […]

Connecting to the First Christmas

Posted on December 9, 2014 - by Vicky Bates

No money down, no interest and nineteen months to pay, the holiday season is upon us. No other holiday brings up so much emotion as Christmas. There is a rise in alcoholism, abuse and depression. No wonder we feel the pain of the loss of our loved ones at this time. I think about the simple story of Christmas. How Mary, ready to give birth, rode on a donkey for days in the cold, while Joseph walked along side to get to a town for a census. When Mary and Joseph finally got to their destination, the town was filled […]

Wishing the Holidays Would Go On By

Posted on December 5, 2014 - by Neal Raisman

At least I don’t have to deal with Christmas. It must be terrible for those who used to rejoice in the holiday. One less present under the tree. One less diner at dinner. One less reason to go on. And everyone else happy and smiling. It’s Christmas. The happiest time of the year. Rejoice in the season. Or else.” Joy for them maybe. But not for us. Just a mean reminder of how much has been lost. How hollow the day is. And they want you to be happy. To join in and decorate the tree. Hang holly when you’d […]

What Bereaved Families Can Expect – Interview with Harriet Sarnoff Schiff

Posted on December 2, 2014 - by Gloria Horsley

HEALING THE GRIEVING HEART What Bereaved Families Can Expect As Time Goes On Host: Dr. Gloria Horsley With guest: Harriet Sarnoff Schiff June 16, 2005 Today I am much honored to have as my special guest international grief expert and author Harriet Sarnoff Schiff. Harriet Sarnoff Schiff is the author of two classic works on grieving, The Bereaved Parent and Living with Mourning. Her third book, How Did I Become my Parent’s Parent addresses the challenges of caring for elderly parents. Harriet is a licensed clinical social worker and former reporter for the Detroit News. She’s lectured throughout the United […]

Healing Through the Holidays

Posted on November 29, 2014 - by Sherry Cassedy

The holidays approach. “Holidays” meaning Thanksgiving, then Advent, Hannakah, Solstice, but ultimately Christmas, and then New Year’s. ‘Tis the season…to be jolly. Increasingly it is a commercialized, consumer event of trees and trimmings, treats and gifts—purchasing an experience of gaity, cheer, warmth, togetherness, presence. When absence is a constant companion, when loss is fresh and raw, when grief is weighty, how do we enter and navigate this season… to be jolly? Gratitude is almost always the answer to our most heartfelt urgent questions about grief. Gratitude offers a frame for finding a measure of solace within the season. Memories of […]

Random Acts of Kindness

Posted on November 28, 2014 - by Sandy Fox

As a way for families to honor their child and to help themselves heal, MISS Foundation began “The Kindness Project” in 1997. By 2007, more than 750,000 Kindness Project cards have been used around the globe to perform random acts of kindness in memory of a child, parent, friend, or spouse who died before their time. The idea is to perform random acts of kindness in the community, usually anonymous. A little card is left behind so that the person who benefits from the kindness knows that someone’s life and death continues to matter. Anyone can participate by ordering Kindness […]

Improv artist Marc Herson on Vision Quests for Mourners

Posted on November 28, 2014 - by Nancy Gershman, LMSW

Fasting on water, chanting his heart out and beating a drum for 4 solitary days in a pine valley opened a door to the afterlife for Marc Hershon. This and more when memory artist, Nancy Gershman talks with Hershon about his vision quest – a Renaissance man who performs and teaches improv; hosts and produces Succotash, the Comedy Podcast; draws an award-winning, weekly cartoon for California’s Half Moon Bay Review and names ubiquitous products (like Swiffer, Dasani and BlackBerry) as Creative Director for Lexicon Branding. The show must go on (then off) Conversations with fathers, now dead, are less awkward No one calls you by your given name in the afterlife Beating a drum goes well with confessing as loud as you can Make friends […]