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Sister Unloads Grief Years After Brother’s Suicide

Posted on August 7, 2013 - by Tarah Hipple

I was a sweet, blue-eyed seven-year-old girl watching The Parent Trap while my big brother was babysitting. He got me a cup of water after asking if there was anything I needed. Little did I know my answer should have been, “I need my big brother.” Only minutes later I heard a heart-stopping, deafening boom. I sat there, frozen. What was that? My blonde hair on the back of my neck was standing up, and my ears were ringing. The terrifying noise was the gun my brother used to take his own life. Thirteen years later, that emotionally scarred little […]

How to Support Family and Friends Facing Child Loss

Posted on August 2, 2013 - by Avril Nagel

Child death is one of those awful things that no one likes to think or talk about, but the sad truth is that many parents face it every day. When a child dies, there is often a well of support from family, friends and the broader community in light of the tragedy. People band together to assist the bereaved family, but beyond delivered meals and help around the house, family and friends are often unsure of how to continue supporting the bereaved parents and surviving children. As a bereaved parent myself, I observed as family members and friends struggled to […]

Embracing a Paradox: Can Life End?

Posted on August 1, 2013 - by Donna Miesbach

It seems to me that death is a paradox, for while it appears that life has ended, nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, the body dies, but our spirit does not. In fact, our spirit cannot die, because the spirit is eternal. Since life cannot end, neither do our relationships. In fact, the scope of those relationships can be much greater now that they reach beyond the seen to the unseen. There were so many “firsts” after my husband died, but the one thing that was constant was the sense of his loving presence. It just felt as […]

Surviving the Isolation of Grief: A Mother’s Story

Posted on July 30, 2013 - by Maria Kubitz

I’ve never been a stranger to the isolation that comes from feeling like you just don’t fit into your surroundings. But I never felt as isolated in my whole life as I did after the death of my daughter. A History of Isolation As a child, I was a shy, introverted person and often felt different than the people around me. At the time, I never really knew why. While I didn’t like the feeling of isolation, I didn’t understand what caused it so it just became a fact of life. Over the years my shyness has lessened, but I […]

Signs from the Afterlife?

Posted on July 26, 2013 - by Annie Kagan

When I was a chiropractor in New York City, an essential part of my job was helping stressed-out patients to relax. Back pain is a vicious cycle. The pain causes tension and the tension intensifies the pain. Breaking the cycle with relaxation and a change of viewpoint helps the body heal. I never would have guessed that many years later, after giving up being a doctor and becoming a writer, I would find myself doing the same thing… helping people heal by changing their viewpoint. This time, the subject is not pain, but death. In certain Eastern and Native American […]

My Heart and Me: A Poem

Posted on July 25, 2013 - by Tarah Hipple

My heart and me Is all I need to be complete; I could try to stand But can’t Unless I know it’s for my heart and me. I couldn’t see With just me So I made sure I still had my heart To come along with me. My heart would have worn away long ago From the exhaustion of being on my sleeve But for me—it kept beating And for my heart—I kept breathing We were meant to be, My heart and me. And I can’t love without thee, My heart And my heart can’t circulate blood Without me It […]

Widows Suffer ‘Absence of Touch’

Posted on July 23, 2013 - by Melinda Richarz Lyons

Six weeks after my father died, I lost my fifty-six-year-old husband very suddenly. My mother and I have often discussed how sad and strange it was to be widowed at about the same time. Because of factors like our ages, some issues we faced were obviously very different. But Mother and I also found many similarities in our journeys through grief. Recently we were talking about the many challenges we have faced as widows, and how some linger. Mother said, “Your father has been gone seven years, but one of the hardest things for me to deal with even now […]

How Lory’s Place ‘Fills the Holes’ for Michigan Grievers

Posted on July 20, 2013 - by Marcy Blesy

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose.” So goes the well known saying. Not a family goes unmarked by the loss of a loved one. Though time often lessens the pain, grief is a journey that lasts a lifetime. I lost both my father and mother at young ages, not anything my friends could understand. While other supportive family filled in the gaps that were missing no one but my sister could truly understand what I was feeling. And even she and I grieved uniquely. Southwest Michigan is truly fortunate to have a facility that […]

What We Can Learn From Angelina Jolie — About Suicide

Posted on July 18, 2013 - by Julie Barnes

I was reading Angelina’s op-ed piece in the New York Times, on her decision to have a double mastectomy to reduce her risk of breast cancer. The fact that she shared her story was both courageous and inspiring. Why did she want to share her story and not keep it private, a move that’s been called heroic by many? She knew that by stepping through any fear or stigma that surrounds the “C” word… she would not only inspire women to take action and be proactive with their health, but to also shed light about the genetic testing and the […]

Someday: A Poem

Posted on July 18, 2013 - by Tarah Hipple

I may have lost myself somewhere along the way But I’ll be back when the dawn breaks…someday. Along my journey I walked into too many caves And the darkness made me want my home And to come back someday. There were dragons to slay Horrific dragons—I was afraid But I slayed them And loudly whispered amens After praying to guide me back…someday. I witnessed a hungry lion And I fed him with guilt But the innocence inside of me Made me want to redeem myself someday. As I wandered astray I slowly found myself And wearily asked the Lord for […]