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Mourning Mother

Posted on November 25, 2014 - by Cheryl Espinosa-Jones

Exactly a month after my mother’s death, I’ve boarded a plane for Toronto, Canada to train with the cancer center there in their protocol, CALM (Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully). It’s hard to leave home right now. I stick close to my wife and become easily overcome by the many details of living. On the other hand, I’m going somewhere that my grief will be, I assume, accepted, and where I will have space to appreciate that my mother died prepared, facing death squarely with her eyes open, just as this program teaches us to facilitate. What a gift she […]

What No One Ever Told Me About Grief

Posted on November 24, 2014 - by Susan Casey

Last Valentine’s—that rose-scented, chocolate-infused day, God reached a hand down, scooped my brother’s soul in his Godly palm without asking if we were ready, if Rocky was ready, to transition from this world into the next. He was plucked from our lives without any warning at all, leaving a jagged hole in our wholeness, sending tremors through our family while hairline cracks mushroomed through our “ROCK” solid foundation. The past nine months have crawled by in a blurry, non-linear haze. I’d attach wheels to the next three, hitch them together like freight train cars, and shove them over a cliff […]

She Called Me Sweetie

Posted on November 17, 2014 - by Alicia Coppola

There wasn’t one definitive phone call that I could point to and say that this was the moment when I knew to I had to go home and visit her. There were a few conversations with various people, my mother, brother, my Uncle Charles* (not by blood, nor was She, just my parents dear friend’s. She, my Aunt, was my mother’s College roommate. They’d been best friends for 53 years. No small feat.) In these phone calls all I heard within me was the faint whisper, echoing from long ago. What I heard was “Go.” It was the same whisper […]

Never Give Up

Posted on November 16, 2014 - by John Pete

When things are bad and don’t seem to be getting better, don’t give up hope. There is always a better way if you are willing to keep looking until you find it. ~John Pete ❂ ❂ ❂

Creating a New Reality After a Child-Loss

Posted on November 16, 2014 - by Monica Jones

Grief has many lessons. One of them is the opportunity to re-create ourselves from scratch because it has the power to take what we are, what we thought we were meant to be, to a far-away place. A place that we felt we would never be able to go. We are stuck with a new reality, a reality that we don’t like. When I lost my son, for a while I fought that reality. I fought the dark place where my identity, my plans that would never be fulfilled, and all my dreams had been taken away from me. I […]

Activities to help Children Process Grief: Interview with Dr. Natalie Carlos

Posted on November 15, 2014 - by Gloria Horsley

At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling), I spoke with Dr. Natalie Carlos, who works in the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, about her work with children and grief. Natalie got into this field after being motivated and inspired by her own personal experience. Natalie’s mom died after a two-year battle with cancer when Natalie was just nine years old. After that, Natalie realized how long and difficult the process of grieving is. That motivated her to go into the field of psychology and work with others who are grieving or going through a traumatic event like […]

The Thankful Day: Remembering My Loved Ones

Posted on November 14, 2014 - by Harriet Hodgson

I live in Minnesota, the land of more than 10,000 lakes, spectacular fall colors, and breathtaking spring times. As soon as the fall leaves start to turn yellow and orange and red, I start to prepare myself for Thanksgiving. It is a difficult holiday for me, and just thinking about Thanksgiving can make my body tense. This is a holiday filled with happy and sad memories. My deceased parents were married on Thanksgiving, so I think of them. Our elder daughter was born on Thanksgiving. The year she was born Thanksgiving was on the 23rd of the month. Ironically, she […]

The Season of Advent Helps Nurture the Waiting Heart

Posted on November 13, 2014 - by Charles W. Sidoti

Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The term is an Anglicized version of the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming”. One of the greatest influences in my spiritual life is an audiotaped lecture called “A Spirituality of Waiting” by the late Fr. Henri J.M. Nouwen. Over the years I have returned to this wonderful recording during Advent, always finding its message fresh and meaningful. I have come to realize that having “a waiting heart,” as Fr. Nouwen suggests, not only fits well […]

Bereavement and Adolescents: Interview with Dr. David E. Balk

Posted on November 13, 2014 - by Gloria Horsley

At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling), I spoke with Dr. David E. Balk about grief and adolescents. David is the author of a book called Dealing With Dying, Death, and Grief During Adolescence. In the video below, David discusses social media and the internet and how it has changed the face of grief for adolescents. Here are some key takeaways from the video: So many adolescents and youth stay in touch through social media, and David says he’s not sure how many people have come to terms with the fact that this has entirely changed how adolescents […]

It’s That Time of Year…Again

Posted on November 12, 2014 - by Lisa Khuraibet

The clocks have been turned back and the weather is changing, signaling the end of summer and our moving into a new season. Much like a new season during the year, so it is in life. Fall is particularly difficult for many people because we are thrust into a world of holidays; Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and the New Year. Each one holds a promise all its own, with messages of faith, gratitude, and hope. But what if we aren’t feeling those things? What if we are too sad to feel the presence of God in […]