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The Chauffeur’s Flower: Memories of an Early Loss

Posted on July 26, 2014 - by Lisa Irish

The day of my father’s funeral stands out in my mind. I remember blue sky and sunshine. It was six days after my eleventh birthday. At the end of the day, the chauffeur from the limousine handed me a carnation he had been wearing. I took it home, pressed it and always remembered the kindness of that moment in the midst of a big feeling of emptiness. My dad had been sick for a while. In fact, the Christmas before this July day, my mother announced “this would be Daddy’s last Christmas.” But that is a story for another time. […]

Colors of the Spirit: We Are All One in Grief

Posted on July 24, 2014 - by David Roberts

Embracing Sacred Law From July 11, 2014 through July 13,2014, I attended the 37th National Conference of The Compassionate Friends in Chicago, Illinois.I have been attending and presenting workshops for this great organization whose focus is to provide hope and support to families who have experienced the death of a child, since 2008. I always look forward to meeting old friends, making new ones ,and for the opportunity to share teachings that I have discovered since the last conference. Since my daughter Jeannine’s death at age 18 of cancer, on 3/1/03, I have undergone a metamorphosis from an uncertain, pain […]

Grief Down Under: Australians React to Malaysia Airlines Crash with Compassion

Posted on July 24, 2014 - by Susan Reynolds

I arrived in Belgium on 9-11-01, a visitor in a foreign country during a tragically tumultuous time of loss and confusion. Last week, I awoke in Australia to another civilian disaster — the shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines plane — with the same ingredients linking global grief and sorrow. Outcries once again echoed across borders. The television reports in Australia were somber and as factual as possible. I was overwhelmed by the lack of “finger pointing” and their grieving words. This is a country of adventurers and mavericks. Traveling is in the genes of the Aussies, encouraged by the […]

How to Live Through Intense Grief

Posted on July 22, 2014 - by Dena Clayton

Loss has been a prevalent theme intersecting with my life over the past six weeks. In this time, there have been four deaths of people whose lives have touched me warmly: my sweetheart’s precious mother; a beloved cousin; a compassionate former colleague; and, a man whose contagious smile I first remember when we were both kids and our families attended the same church. As well, one friend’s adult step-daughter and another friend’s father died during this time. I wish I could hug all of the people grieving their losses. I bow to their beautiful spirits of Fran, Connie, Estelle, Danny, […]

Adult Sibling Loss: Interview with Dr. Brenda Marshall

Posted on July 22, 2014 - by admin

At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling), I spoke with Dr. Brenda Marshall about adult sibling loss. Brenda got into this field when her younger brother Brent died eight years ago. It was then that she realized there’s not very much support for siblings. That realization called on her to ask the question “Why?” and “What can I do about it?” I asked Brenda why she thinks people don’t understand how significant a sibling loss is. Hear Brenda’s response in the video below. Here are some key takeaways from the video: For one thing, a lot of […]

Heaven…When Malaysian Plane Arrives

Posted on July 21, 2014 - by Paula Ezop

Darkness spread throughout heaven…and, all of heaven was filled with sadness…the moment when God heard his children on Malaysia flight number MH17 cry out for help…and, the angel choirs were silent…and, God wept openly for his children… God wept openly as he heard from the pilots, flight attendants, and passengers on the plane that was headed for destruction on that fateful day. His children were crying out for help. The angels stood in silence…and God cried out in anguish! His anger filled the air and for but a moment, the world fell silent as God’s children looked straight into the […]

The Malaysian Airlines Crash: Reflections on Grief After Tragedy

Posted on July 20, 2014 - by David Roberts

This past Thursday (7/18/14), Malaysian Airlines flight MH 17 was hit by a missile while flying over the Ukraine. All told, 298 individuals from 11 countries, including 80 children were killed. Recalling My Past When I first heard of this tragic event, I immediately recalled the terrorist attack involving Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988. Pan Am Flight 103, a London to New York flight, exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. A total of 270 people were killed, 259 of which had been on board the plane and another 11 had been killed from the debris that hit the ground. […]

Teens and Homicide: Interview with Dr. Tashel Bordere

Posted on July 19, 2014 - by admin

At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling), I spoke with Dr. Tashel Bordere about her work with teens and the effects of homicide on their lives. In the video below, Tashel shares some of the most important things she has learned during her work with teens and homicide. Here are some key takeaways from the video: Youth are very disenfranchised in terms of not getting a lot of the services they need. This stems from myths and stereotypes that youth don’t have feelings surrounding the multiple losses they have experienced. Tashel says one of the main things […]

Life Moves Ahead: Discovering the Freedom to Go With It

Posted on July 12, 2014 - by Charles W. Sidoti

This article was written by Charles W. Sidoti and Rabbi Akiva Feinstein. It is an excerpt from Living at God’s Speed, Healing in God’s Time. Our world and our individual lives are in the process of evolving. It is not a question of rejecting the past but of letting the past flow into the present and letting this process guide us as to how to live in the future. –Jean Vanier, From, Becoming Human Pope John Paul ll, speaking to church leaders about the mission of the church, once said, “We are not here to guard a museum, but rather to […]

The Hand-Knit Shawl, a Linking Object and Labor of Love

Posted on July 11, 2014 - by Harriet Hodgson

My husband was in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit for weeks. Our minister came to visit him and she had two bulging gift bags. One contained a brown, hand-knit shawl for my husband and the second a blue hand-knit shawl for me. Anonymous members of the church Caring Crafters group made the shawls and the gifts touched my husband. He wouldn’t let his shawl out of his sight. “Where is my shawl?” he would ask, looking worriedly about the room. “That’s a special gift and I don’t want to lose it.” Day shift and night shift nurses became aware of […]