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The Year of Firsts

Posted on September 28, 2011 - by Jean Williams

Imagine a young son who has struggled his whole life with pain and illness. His parents have cared for his physical needs and felt responsible for his emotional well-being. Now, imagine they are witnessing their twenty-five-year-old son die from a bullet by his own hand. That profound moment began our yearlong of firsts. I know my husband had his own list of firsts, but mine began with disbelief the morning before Saint Patrick’s Day. Each reminder of Joshua not being there was gut wrenching throughout that first year, but there was grace, too, which I never expected. Until Easter, my […]

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New Calling: Reaching Out to Others Through Writing

Posted on September 27, 2011 - by Mary Elizabeth Robinson

When I was young, my life’s calling was softly introduced to me. It may not have been a path I would have chosen as an adult or of my own desire, but it changed me and made me who I am today. I guess my mother’s illness and death deeply impacted my life. I never forgot the realm of devastation or the pain it caused me as my days unfolded without her. I had a strong inner impulse toward my purpose. My heart ached for those who faced similar circumstances. I would reach out to people I knew or didn’t […]

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Can I Believe My Mother is in Heaven?

Posted on September 26, 2011 - by Lauren Muscarella

I love going to psychics. I’m not sure if it’s my impetuous nature to know what is to come, the comforting assertions like “Great fortune is headed your way” or its mother-memory connection. I became loosely associated with the magic of clairvoyance at age 5. I waited in the reception area while my mother traveled through past lives and peered into her future. These days I’m allowed to partake in the mysticism myself.  Turning the corner on six years of motherlessness, I strolled through the beaded door of a Hyannis psychic on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Once inside the inconspicuous […]

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Where to Start

Posted on September 25, 2011 - by Michele Neff Hernandez

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Where to Start

Posted on September 25, 2011 - by Mary R. Morgan

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Where to Start

Posted on September 25, 2011 - by Mitch Carmody

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When Mom Dies: A Big Sister Writes to Her Little Sister

Posted on September 25, 2011 - by Susan Troccolo

(This piece is an excerpt from a longer work entitled Mind Pictures)  The days in the hospital right before our mom died are mostly a blur. I remember that you and Dad and I sat by her bed as long as we were allowed. I remember the heart monitor and the unsettling, uncertain blips on that glowing metal screen that were the external reminders of mama’s struggling heart. I remember the day that her heart stopped.  But I recall with the most clarity an hour when she and I were alone in her hospital room.  Mom had been very weak […]

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Reframing: Technique to Make the Good Memories Come Alive

Posted on September 24, 2011 - by Sharon Greenlee

When we lose a loved one, the reaction is extreme sadness and that sadness plays its role in the form of grief. Many times the circumstances of the death can cause undue mental distress for the bereaved. For example, many who lost loved ones in the September 11th tragedy may be struggling to rid their minds of negative images of how their loved one may have suffered and finally died that fateful day. Such visual images, played repeatedly in the mind will greatly interfere with healthy grief healing. The goal of healthy grief is to be able to express the […]

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How to Ask for a Story of Your Loved One

Posted on September 23, 2011 - by Bob Baugher

Think for a moment about all of the 7 billion people still alive on earth as you read these words. At some point in the future not one person will be alive. You and I and all the rest will be gone only to be replaced by a whole new group. What have we all left after we’re gone? One answer: stories.  Consider the stories that others know of the people in your life who’ve died. Stories you may not even know! One of the many ways of coping with our grief is to compile memories of the departed. That’s […]

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With Her Father in the Final Days

Posted on September 21, 2011 - by Rhonda Belous

“All the leaves are brown; and the sky is grey …” The Mamas and Papas The verbs and functions began to fall away like the September leaves. Some faster than others, the “helicopters” spiraled to their demise and others quietly and unhurriedly floated to the ground. One thing was undeniable – they were never to return. Consistently, I would strive to put myself in my dad’s place and ask myself, “what would it be like to be too exhausted or weak to sit up?” It was very tough, if next to impossible to imagine. The next certainty I realized was […]

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