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Message of Robin Williams’ Death: Mental Illness Can Kill

Posted on August 12, 2014 - by Marilyn Burns

Robin Williams got the world’s attention by making us belly laugh. He was also able to bring tears to our eyes by the meaningful messages he would leave us in a profound line of a movie or a conclusion of a stand-up comedy act. Now that our country is in a crisis due to drug-related deaths, he is leaving us with a message that mental illness, drug addiction, and alcoholism must be taken seriously because they can kill you. This death is untimely for Robin and his family. However, it is timely for those fighting for their lives. My son […]

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Honoring Robin Williams

Posted on August 11, 2014 - by Tambre Leighn

Experiencing sadness or grief can come from feeling that something is missing, something has been lost. When you think about someone now gone who inspired you, made a difference in your life – or, like Robin Williams, someone who made you laugh – ask what qualities of that person you can embrace. Perhaps it is Robin’s compassion, his humor, his creativity, or his spontaneity. Choose the quality you most admire and now ask: How can I bring that into my life more each day in honor of him and to make the world a better place? This, I believe, is […]

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Looking Back – From the Moon!

Posted on August 11, 2014 - by Charles W. Sidoti

This article is an excerpt from Living at God’s Speed, Healing in God’s Time. One of the most enlightening films I have ever seen is Ron Howard’s 2007 documentary In the Shadow of the Moon.  In the film, Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell reflects upon his amazing experience of looking back at the Earth while orbiting the moon.  Lovell explains how, as he looked out the window of the spaceship and raised his hand in front of his face, the Earth appeared so small that he was able to block it out completely behind his thumb.  What a perspective!  I have done […]

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Peanut Gallery, a Documentary: Interview with Molly Gandour

Posted on August 6, 2014 - by Gloria Horsley

At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling) conference, I spoke with Molly Gandour about her documentary ‘Peanut Gallery’. Her film explores the death of her sister and how she and her parents just recently learned to talk about it. Molly went home to Indiana a few years ago, where she grew up, to speak with her parents for the first time about the death of her sister. Molly was just 10 years old when her sister died, and she and her parents had never really spoken about it. Molly’s film is a story of her family learning […]

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Is There a Right Way to Heal? An Interview with Dr. Phyllis Kosminsky

Posted on August 6, 2014 - by Gloria Horsley

At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling) conference, I spoke with Dr. Phyllis Kosminsky about healing after loss and what is the right way to heal. Phyllis has written a book called Getting Back To Life When Grief Won’t Heal. She wrote the book because a lot of people were asking her if they were grieving in the right way. There’s a lot of talk about moving through the stages of grief. This leads some people to question whether or not they’re doing something wrong, because they might have gone through the grieving process and ended up right […]

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College Students and Bereavement: Interview With David Fajgenbaum

Posted on August 6, 2014 - by Gloria Horsley

At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling) conference, I spoke with David Fajgenbaum about college students and bereavement In the video below, David discusses how college student handle loss and deal with grief. Here are some key takeaways from the video: Losing someone at any age is never easy, but losing someone while you’re in college is particularly difficult for a few reasons. Losing someone while in college is difficult because it’s usually the first time a young adult is away from home for the first time and away from those supportive resources. College students are also […]

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Wanted: Soul Sister in Grief

Posted on August 6, 2014 - by Shannon Harris

I have secretly been looking for a place to post a want-ad for a partner in grief.  In my small hometown, I don’t know anyone who has lost a child.  There is a support group about 30 minutes away but despite my efforts to connect with any of these women outside of the group that has not yet happened. It has been four years since I lost my sweet boy.  Four years and not one connection.  To say I am lonely would be incorrect.  I have an amazing husband and a house full of children.  I have a handful of […]

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Personality Types and Grief: Interview with Dr. Lisa Prossor-Dodds

Posted on August 4, 2014 - by Gloria Horsley

At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling) conference, I spoke with Dr. Lisa Prossor-Dodds about Myers Briggs personality types and the different way people grieve. Lisa describes her research as being very exciting, because as she gets deeper into it, she’s starting to see patterns emerge from the data. She says it’s almost at a point where names can be assigned to the different grief types that are emerging. There are 4 grief types that have clearly emerged from the data. Lisa discusses these in more detail in the video below. Here are some key takeaways from […]

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Adults Losing their Parents: Interview with Patricia Stauber, RN

Posted on August 4, 2014 - by Gloria Horsley

At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling) conference, I spoke with Patricia Stauber about the issues of losing a parent as an adult. This loss can be overlooked as it is expected that everyone’s parents will die eventually. Patricia has worked with adults who have lost a parent for many years. She’s now in private practice working with adults who have lost parents. In the video below, Patricia discusses the biggest issues facing adults who have lost parents and how to overcome them. Here are some key takeaways from the video: One of the biggest issues is […]

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Playwright Taren Sterry

Playwright Taren Sterry Finding the Funny in Sadness

Posted on August 4, 2014 - by Nancy Gershman, LMSW

Taren Sterry is a comedic actress and playwright who also teaches improv, presentation coaching, public speaking and team building. She is a full time manager of Volunteer Training at Visiting Nurse Service of NY Hospice and Palliative Care. Her nationally acclaimed one-woman show, 180 Days, is about her first six months working in hospice. Visit Taren at www.tarensterry.com and www.180daysplay.com. Finding the funny when your option is profound sadness Restage awful memories as comedy to alter the past Everyone, even a sourpuss, can notice one positive thing Not even those in the business are immune from death Compassionate listening deepens any relationship Close mindedness isn’t permanent […]

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