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Composing Grief: Songwriting as Salve after Loss

Posted on September 4, 2012 - by Tony Falzano

There are many articles written by people who found an activity that helped them journey through grief and loss. They range from journaling feelings on paper to taking up something more extravagant, such as hang-gliding. These new-found interests have often been the oxygen individuals need to survive. I recently came across an article written by a woman who used songwriting as a way of working through grief. She claimed not to be a songwriter or a musician. In fact, she didn’t know where to begin the process. She just had a desire to express herself and heal her broken heart. […]

Healing Journey: Things Are Looking Up (And So Am I)

Posted on September 3, 2012 - by Michael Nunley

Some of you are far enough along the grief journey to believe that there is life with grief. Please notice I did not say “life AFTER grief.” There is no “after”; there is only understanding and healing. You don’t stop missing a loved one who is no longer with you. You don’t wake up one day with selective amnesia and live as if someone never existed. It doesn’t work that way. What happens is you move from living one breath at a time to one hour at a time to one day at a time. You learn there is strength […]

Writing Heartfelt Words Can Lead You Out of the Darkness

Posted on September 3, 2012 - by Harriet Hodgson

Recently Deb Kosmer, a bereaved parent, author, poet, health care professional, and blogger, posted on Facebook about accumulating words. I don’t know the source of her post, but it said letters make words, words make sentences, sentences make pages, pages make chapters, and chapters make books. I added a line to Deb’s post, “And some words make a new life.” Why did I add this line? It comes from my experience. In 2007, I lost four family members, my daughter, father-in-law, brother, and former son-in-law. Losing their father made my twin grandchildren orphans and my husband and me GRGs, grandparents […]

After Child-Loss, Life on Infinity Boulevard

Posted on September 1, 2012 - by David Roberts

The Number 8 In Ted Andrews book, Animal Speak, there is a page devoted specifically to the meanings of numbers as they relate to our understanding of nature. The number 8 signifies, among other things, the symbol for infinity or eternal life. It is ironic that eternal life arises from death, an event so emotionally painful to those who bear witness to it. Death is an event that all of us would wish to avoid or talk about. However, death is woven into the fabric of our very existence and can be one of life’s greatest teachers and can help […]

Widow’s Wedding Anniversary Brings Flood of Memories

Posted on September 1, 2012 - by Marta Dorton

The anniversary of our anniversary is the hardest of all. We would be married 29 years by now. I think we would have made it through all that life still had to throw at us. But life had other plans. I looked at our wedding photos today, our faces bright with youth, hope, love; family and friends wishing us a great future; the expectation of growing old together taken for granted. We politely placed a slice of fresh, creamy cake into the other’s mouth, reflecting the respect and admiration we would hold for each other in the years to come. […]

Life’s Transitions, Friendships, and the ‘Widow Infection’

Posted on August 31, 2012 - by Catherine Tidd

I feel like I’m in a period of transition, which is not unusual for me. It’s really not unusual for anyone like me, and by that I mean a woman in her 30s This year, I will be turning 36, which means that if I were in elementary school, it would be perfectly okay to round up to 40. But I’m not in elementary school, so it’s not okay. I don’t mind being in my 30s because I’m starting to recognize it for what it is and I think lot of my friends are as well. This is the time […]

Former Widower Reviews ‘Go On,’ TV Show About Widower

Posted on August 19, 2012 - by Abel Keogh

I don’t watch a lot of TV. With five young kids and four books in various stages of completion, I don’t have the time or energy to commit to the boob tube. But with Marathon Girl glued to the Olympics for two weeks (about the only time she watches TV), I kept seeing the promos for the new Mathew Perry show “Go On.” The subject matter of a recent widower trying to move on was enough to entice me to put down the pen for 30 minutes and see if the show was worth watching. Much to […]

The Widow Time Zone

Posted on August 18, 2012 - by Catherine Tidd

I’m writing this late at night on purpose. Or maybe I’m not. I don’t know. Right now I’m in Widow Time Zone (WTZ). WTZ comes as a surprise to us all. I know this because I’ll be sitting at my computer just typing away when an email will come in at 1:00 in the morning and I’ll respond to it. Hey, Widow Chick! Just wanted to see if you could help me with ____ or if you could read the following ____ or if you could just let me know if I’m crazy. As soon as my email pings, […]

Educate Yourself About Grief in Workplace

Posted on August 16, 2012 - by Judith Johnson

“For most of human history, people died fast. Now suddenly, we have the opportunity to grow old, to have an illness for a long period of time, and to know what’s coming. We could make this an important phase of life.” — Joanne Lynn, M.D., “Americans for Better Care of the Dying” It may sound peculiar, but there are some very exciting things happening where death is concerned in America. The momentum of change in how we view and respond to death is building in many sectors of society as we transform our culture of death. For example, consider the […]

Back to School Blues for Mom Who Lost Child

Posted on August 15, 2012 - by Amy Daly

It’s that time of year again. We are standing in the middle of the school supply section of Target, along with several other families. My two teenagers efficiently place items in the cart, crossing them off their respective lists. They display a great deal of self-sufficiency this year, which makes this task way more simple than it was in 2001 when my oldest, Bryce, was entering kindergarten. As I stand amidst the brightly colored folders and neatly packaged pencils, my mind wanders. The back to school transition triggers my grief each year, without fail. I think about the daughter who […]