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Adult Siblings’ Grief May be Overlooked

Posted on June 2, 2012 - by Brenda Marshall

Yes, it is dreadful for our parents when our sibling, their child, dies. Horrific actually, made even more so because we know. We see it in their faces and feel it in their words. We know because we may be parents ourselves and the thought of losing one of our children is unfathomable. It’s also awful for our sibling’s spouse and their children. We see and feel it in their faces and wonder how they will survive. And, it is dreadful for us too. We’ve lost our mirror, our confidante, in some cases our anchor and the person we expected to […]

Responding to Multiple Losses: ‘Power in the Broken Heart’

Posted on June 1, 2012 - by Terry Jones-Brady

The bare bones story of my life is this: I lost two daughters to a vile and nasty genetic disease called Cystic Fibrosis. My older daughter, Heather, was twelve when she died undergoing a bronchial lavage that was meant to prolong her life. My younger daughter, Holly, died twelve days following an unsuccessful bilateral lung transplant that we thought would give her new life. During those twelve long days, Holly was comatose. She was twenty-two when the medical team decided to unplug the equipment that were keeping her vital functions going. Five years later, my husband, the girls’ father, put […]

Thank You to Compassionate Friends

Posted on June 1, 2012 - by Patrick T. Malone

This May 29th marked the 17th anniversary of Lance’s death. It’s even longer for Scott and Erin. As I look back, I realize that the passage of time has helped but without the help and assistance of my Compassionate Friends, I fear I would be mired in despair and desperation some place along the road that we all are traveling. So, as I reach this milepost I would like to thank those who helped along the way. Seventeen years ago, another bereaved parent volunteered to read the obituaries, saw Lance’s story and sent us a packet of information on the […]

Robert Thompson; Where Does Sadness end and Depression Begin

Posted on June 1, 2012 - by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

Dr Thompson talks about depression and sadness after a loss.

When Our Closest Loved One Has Died

Posted on June 1, 2012 - by Deb Kosmer

She laughed at my jokes. She never forgot my birthday. Once a week, she made liver for me, even though she hated it. She made it anyway for me. She tied my ties. She told me she loved me. She never minded my cold feet. She made me laugh. She visited my mother. She listened to me. She was the one who always got the family together. She always asked me how I was. She asked me how my day had been. She forgave me for not being perfect. She was always there. Our bed was never empty when she […]

Artist’s Block Follows Death of Grandfather

Posted on May 31, 2012 - by Brandi Reyna

When I was a teenager, I was an artist. Painting was a therapeutic release for me. It helped me to outwardly express in a positive manner my inner anguish, anger and pain from abuse and other traumatic experiences in my life. It was part of my normal to paint and create something on canvas; expressing the emotions that I need to; and then repaint the canvas white and do something else. I do not own any artwork from that period in my life. This is probably a good thing, as seeing some of the things that I created, might take […]

Man Writes Music to Ease Grief

Posted on May 29, 2012 - by Michael Nunley

My name is Michael, and I lost my talented, loveable, indescribable sister to suicide, and my solid, strong, and loyal father to a cancerous brain tumor- in the space of half a year. I don’t have to tell you how that felt. Most of you reading this have your own pain to help you empathize with my story. What I do want to share here with you is how I deal with it; how my music helps me and allows me to try and help others, how it brings me comfort, how it gives me strength. For me, my more […]

Still Mourning, Still Dreaming After Death of a Child

Posted on May 29, 2012 - by Kent Koppelman

Shortly after my son’s death, I came across his bathrobe in a closet; hugging it to my chest, my nose detected his scent. For the next few days, I frequently held his bathrobe to my face to breathe in his smell and perpetuate the illusion of his presence. The scent eventually dissipated, but the journey had just begun. I have approached many people to talk about their grief journey – especially parents who lost a child – hoping to learn something from them. What I ultimately learned is that even when the pain is similar, people grieve differently. When your […]

Letting Go to Move Forward

Posted on May 28, 2012 - by Cindy Adams

I’m sure my friends wondered why I still had the sympathy cards up 6 months after my husband died. I found them comforting. It visually confirmed all our friends and family that cared for my daughters and me. I wasn’t ready to put them away. I needed to find a special place for them and decided one day I’d get around to it. The closets were still untouched. One of Nelson’s shirts had a musty smell. Had it been that long? My husband died in April and now it was October. Many friends offered their help. I knew they just […]

What Will Happen to our Possessions After We Die?

Posted on May 28, 2012 - by Sandy Fox

When we are gone, who will want our pictures and possessions, especially if we have lost our only child? If we have surviving children and/or siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, will any of these people want the items we now cherish, or do these items lose their meaning entirely when someone in a family dies? Throughout my life and my daughter’s, I took many photos, saved many possessions and encouraged her to do the same. Here I am with all these memories that I enjoy having, and it scares me to think of what may happen to them when I […]