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The Smile Again Story

Posted on April 8, 2011 - by admin

On June 15, 1994, I received a call from my Dad. He told me I better get to the hospital, the doctors didn’t think my brother would make it through the day. My heart fell out of my body and I couldn’t breath. I heard something in my Dad’s voice that I couldn’t deny. In someway, I knew that it was the last day my brother, Pat, would be here on earth. I felt as though I was watching a movie in slow motion or someone else’s pain as I watched each one of my brothers and sisters arrive. But […]

Easter Reminds Woman that God Understands Loss

Posted on April 8, 2011 - by Lisa Peacock

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to the women’s group at my church, and I realized just how much faith meant to me. I grew up Catholic, and it was very important to my mother that we go to church. However, when she was killed, God was the last person I wanted to talk to. I was so angry that He had “taken” both of my parents! How could He? This supposedly loving, kind, merciful God had shown me no kindness or mercy, or so I thought. Through the next four years, I pushed and pulled away from faith. […]

Room For Change After a Spouse-Loss

Posted on April 7, 2011 - by Susan Reynolds

As time “slips” by in my healing from loss of spouse, and I find my way to enter again into life, there seems to be more and more sliding from side to side. I’m trying to find my footing on a path unexplored. It was easy being a mother, wife and co creator of a family life. Two daughters, two cats, one dog and two parents under one roof. Consensus was not always possible, but we worked as a team, dreamed as a team and lived together for 23 years. When my husband died, the girls and I felt unstable […]

Son is Present in the Birds

Posted on April 5, 2011 - by Vicky Bates

My interest in animals started at an early age. My mom, having been raised on a farm, was a regular Dr. Doolittle. We always seemed to have a dog or cat, a bird and at one point even an eight-inch alligator which was sent to us from Florida. When these animals died, we had elaborate funerals and buried our birds and the alligator in a shoebox full of dried leaves and flowers surrounding them. My mom was pulled from the kitchen to stand with my brother and me as we each said something thoughtful about them. The number of tears […]

Does Time Heal?

Posted on April 3, 2011 - by David Roberts

I discovered this quote from singer/songwriter Jack Johnson: And if they tell you love fades over time, tell them there is no such thing as time. His quote also got me thinking about the passage of time as it relates to our grief journeys. Many in our society believe that there is a set time period for resolving our grief. In six months to a year, it is generally expected that one should be “over” his/her grief and return to life, as he/she knew it. What is also implied is that there are practical solutions to the losses that we experience. […]

Cognitive Dissonance in the Hereafter

Posted on April 2, 2011 - by K. Paul Stoller

I am in frequent communication, to a greater or lesser degree, with my teenage son who passed in a train accident at the end of 2007. The bridge that has been built between us, with the assistance of many others, has allowed enough clarity for a series of books to be written by my son, still 19 years old by earth years if he had remained. The first book is just now off the printing presses. Now, this is a very personal experience and I am not trying to convince anyone of anything. I am just sharing, but understand that […]

How To Die Laughing

Posted on April 1, 2011 - by Bernie Siegel

A friend of mine and his new wife decided to spend their honeymoon camping out. I heard this story from him after all the events had occurred. He said, “Our first night out I cut up the branches of a tree to make a shelter for our campsite. We had a quiet evening but were awakened in the morning by a horrible roar. “When I stepped out of the tent there was a demon standing there. I asked the demon what he wanted and he said, ‘You have ruined my sacred fruit tree. I am going to eat your heart […]

Environmental Loss: Grief and Cherry Blossoms

Posted on April 1, 2011 - by K. Paul Stoller

I have written about the flower essences that helped me move some of the very painful energy in those first few days after the train accident that took my son’s earth life. Heart mend, aptly named, was one of the remedies my long time friend Brent Davis over-nighted to help with my grief, and it did help. But I needed more than what just flower essences could provide. I felt like I was heading towards the “Big One,” as the comedian Redd Foxx would often say on the sitcom, “Sanford & Son.” Now, Brent and I go way back, and […]

Grief Process: Asking the Profound Questions

Posted on March 31, 2011 - by Ellen Gerst

One way to successfully travel the road of grief towards renewal is to afford yourself an appropriate amount of time for introspective thought. Richard Bach suggests asking yourself questions. He says, “The simplest questions are the most profound. Where were you born? Where is your home? Where are you going? What are you doing? Think about these once in a while and watch your answers change.” Let’s look at each of these questions from two perspectives as I illustrate how you can answer them simply or delve for a deeper meaning. Where Were You Born? Taken at face value, this […]

Stitched Together By Memories: Legacy and Life Review

Posted on March 30, 2011 - by Jane Simington

In preparation for our mother’s 90th birthday, my sister requested that each of Mother’s children photograph the quilts mother had, over the years, given to us, our children and grandchildren. My sister was designing a “quilt book.” Clipping and snipping, she was fashioning a chapter for each of Mother’s children. Our individual stories were being braided into the story of Mother’s life, symbolically depicting her sharing of each of our journeys as we moved through the hills and valleys of our own experiences. While Mother did not live to view the final product, the overall goal for designing the quilt […]