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Finding Hope After Loss

Posted on October 9, 2014 - by John Pete

The very painful losses of loved ones can perhaps only be made less devastating by giving them substance beyond the devastation. Over time painful grief can be reshaped into something less confined to hopelessness and pain, and more open to faith, hope and healing; and anger and frustration into something less corrosive and more forgiving of self and others. If there is to be real purpose for life, death and human tragedy, I think we must seek it out and embrace it as a part of our own existence.

Eight Hard Questions After a Spouse-Loss

Posted on October 8, 2014 - by Gloria Lintermans

Q: Why are holidays so hard? A: Holidays are reminders of family occasions and have, often painful, associations to events and people. They evoke memories, feelings and nostalgia for what was. It is helpful to do things in a different way at holiday time and to make plans to be with family or friends rather than being alone. Q: My husband and I had a troubled relationship. Why am I still grieving so much? A: Even in a difficult relationship, people grieve. We often grieve the loss of a relationship that didn’t have resolution. Any chance to redeem the relationship […]

When an Adopted Daughter Takes her Own Life

Posted on October 7, 2014 - by John Brooks

We had a big fight with our 17-year-old daughter Casey that weekend in January, 2008 – yelling, crying, slamming doors, saying ugly things we didn’t really mean. A typical teenage power struggle. I left her in a puddle of tears in her room cursing me, practically counting the days until she went off to college that fall. She’d been accepted at Bennington College in Vermont and seemed to revel in the notion that she’d be free of us. I didn’t take it personally. Just another teen mouthing off at her parents, trying to get under their skin. We were actually […]

Nourish Yourself, One Day at a Time

Posted on October 6, 2014 - by Donna Miesbach

It is so easy to feel overwhelmed after the loss of a loved one. Routines have changed. Responsibilities have changed. Everything seems so different, and while it is true that nothing will ever be the same again, life does continue. Working through grief teaches us great lessons and broadens our vision as we discover not only that life does not end, love does not end either. While it is true that the physical body does not last forever, the relationship we had is still there. The love continues. In the meantime, there is much we can do to help ourselves […]

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

Posted on October 6, 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 […]

When a Pregnant Woman Commits Suicide

Posted on October 5, 2014 - by Gloria Horsley

Abel Keogh, author of Room for Two, was recently interviewed with Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley about the Loss of his wife and child to suicide and premature birth. Below is the interview: G: Hello, I’m Dr. Gloria Horsley with my co-host H: Dr. Heidi Horsley. G: Each week Heidi and I welcome you to Healing the Grieving Heart, a show of hope and conversation with those who’ve suffered the loss of a loved one and for healthcare professionals who work in this most difficult field. As always the message is others have been there before you […]

Music Can Heal a Broken Heart

Posted on October 3, 2014 - by Paula Ezop

I love to write. I write about the spiritual in our everyday lives, and I write children’s books. Yes, I know that they are two completely different genres; yet both make me feel complete. I believe that writing about the spiritual is what I was meant to do. It is my reason for being here, and I feel if I have helped just one person with my spiritual writing, then I am fulfilling my mission in life. Writing children’s books takes me to places where all things are possible, where bears can talk, princesses live in lovely castles, and magical […]

As Seasons Change, So Does Grief

Posted on October 2, 2014 - by Marilyn Burns

Grief is a very difficult passage to make. We hope when we are grief stricken that someday we will no longer grieve. The reality in grief is that we really don’t “get over” it; we learn instead to live with it. I lost my son to an opiate addiction in 2007. As you can imagine, it was a very difficult time in my life. As a mother, I did everything I could to keep him alive and happy. However, the day came in my life where parenting had to change. When my son became an adult, I had to let […]

Writer J.W. Basilo on Starting Fresh When the Old Guard is Gone

Posted on October 1, 2014 - by Nancy Gershman, LMSW

How can you use a death and a birth to foster a new culture of decency around the dinner table? This and more when memory artist Nancy Gershman talks with Chicago-based writer, performer, and director J.W Basilo. A National and World Poetry Slam finalist, Basilo is also a PushCart Prize Nominee, and co-host of the Uptown Poetry Slam. His work has appeared on NPR, CBS, WGN and the Chicago Tribune. Catch him on http://BustedMouth.com and http://chicagoslamworks.com. Start a tradition when the Old Guard dies New at the head of the table? Speak your mind Be truthful about the dead without crossing yourself Complete the conversation before anyone’s dying, […]

Quiet and Patience are Stepping Stones to Healing

Posted on October 1, 2014 - by Gloria Lintermans

The earliest feelings of mourning include the initial shock (this can’t be happening), the denial of the reality, and feeling overwhelmed and numb. It is not uncommon to feel some loss of self-esteem and extreme vulnerable. Symptoms usually include a variety of internal complaints, a great deal of crying, insomnia, waking from sleep or not being able to fall asleep, feeling anxious, loss of appetite, possible sweaty hands and heart palpitations. You may also experience irritability, lack of patience, forgetfulness, distractibility and loss of concentration. Feelings of sadness and loneliness accompany feeling bewildered. Disassociation of feeling is common. “I feel […]