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Does Everything Happen ‘For a Reason’?

Posted on May 2, 2023 - by Greg Adams

Does Everything Happen For a Reason? Somewhere in adolescence, certainly before young adulthood, I heard the saying, “everything happens for a reason.” It seems like I’ve always known this phrase. It is very common and obviously a powerfully meaningful and comforting phrase for many. But not for all. For some of us, it ranges from empty to offensive to somewhere in-between. If you are a grieving one who has found a reason, or more than one, for your loss, all support to you. If you are a grieving one for whom no reason has been or will be found for […]

Finding Purpose During Grief

Posted on April 30, 2023 - by Colleen Friesen

When someone we love leaves this world ahead of us, we are left feeling lost and confused. We grapple to find ways to make sense of what has happened. Finding a purpose or torch we can carry onward is one of the most powerful ways to cope with grief. Igniting Your Torch As those left behind, still living out the life we came here to live, we can get lost in despair. I often find my thoughts taking sad, dark paths of doubt. I wonder to myself, ‘what is the point?’ We struggle through life, trying to have a positive […]

Positive Attitude and Faith in Grief

Posted on April 27, 2023 - by Dr. Carol Leibovich Mankes

Positive Attitude Little did I know that my life experiences would bring me to the understanding of the utmost importance of solid, loving, supportive parenting and its role in a child’s future resilience. These realities also taught me the meaning of self-reflection and facing life with a positive attitude and faith. My journey began in Israel. I was born in Israel to Argentinian parents who fought tooth and nail to give my brothers and me a good life. It wasn’t easy living in a country where war/peace was a constant topic. At times, sirens signaled to hide in the building […]

Healthy Baby Brings Joy After Losses

Posted on April 25, 2023 - by Ken Lefkowitz

Healthy Baby Brings Joy After the death of two babies, my wife Sheila gave birth to a healthy baby boy. “Wow, he’s just great,” I told Sheila as I leaned over her hospital bed to kiss her on the forehead. She was in pain from the C-Section incision, but this time happiness enveloped her, diminishing any discomfort. “I was able to suit up in whites and special sanitized gloves. In these, I can enter the Infant Intensive Care Unit. I’ve held his hand and touched his face through special holes in the side of his clear plastic covered crib. Doctor […]

Wise Old Owl: Daughter’s Favorite Stuffed Animal

Posted on April 24, 2023 - by John Beerman

Wise Old Owl Most every morning, after I brew my half-caf coffee, I make my way to our second-story porch overlooking massive oak tress in our back yard. A brackish creek meanders beyond the trees, hidden from view. It harbors Florida wildlife, red cardinals, blue jays and finicky squirrels scampering about in search of acorns from the oaks. And then there is the grey owl, whose distinctive call is not a hoot, but more of a “coo “, a very loud coo. Hearing her “coo” gives me an eerie sense of mystery and awe. I relish my time on our […]

Making Good Things from Grief

Posted on April 20, 2023 - by Harriet Hodgson

Making Good Things from Grief When my husband John died, I didn’t know how to go on living. Rather than existing, I wanted to flourish and savor life. That meant setting new goals, working for them, and reaching them. I wanted my living loved ones, and John, to be proud of me. Creating a new life took gumption, and I had it. Grief could have a better outcome if I let it. I could learn from grief and use my experience to help others. Judy Tatelbaum, author of The Courage to Grieve, thinks grieving people need to make good from […]

Understanding and Working through Grief

Posted on April 17, 2023 - by Ilana Estelle

Understanding and working through grief isn’t without its challenges. Although you may have weeks or months to prepare, knowing you’re going to lose a loved one. It isn’t something you’re always ready for and that’s okay. GRIEF AFFECTS US ALL DIFFERENTLY Grief affects us all differently and there is no timescale for working through grief. Fortunately, many of us will come through grief with a better understanding of how we feel. Initially, we may wander and get lost for a while, and that’s okay too, or we may wait until we’re feeling mentally ready to accept that we need to […]

Saying Goodbye to His Body

Posted on April 14, 2023 - by Kim Pierce

LOSING MY FIANCE When my fiancé died suddenly in 1998, I had the heart-wrenching task of identifying him at the funeral home. Wildly, madly I wanted it not to be true and to see someone else on that gurney. But no, I didn’t even have to enter the room. I could stand in the doorway and look across and see the familiar face I loved, shattering my last hope that some sort of terrible mistake had occurred. Everything moves so fast in those first, frantic moments after a death. Consumed with grief, I leaned heavily on a friend who gently […]

Grief Does Not Define Me

Posted on April 11, 2023 - by Judy Lipson

Grief Does Not Define Me When my daughter told me that grief defined me, I felt like I had been punched in my gut. After years of presenting a happy persona, and not talking about my beloved sisters Margie and Jane, I learned that my acting skills would not win an Oscar. Her words forced me to switch the narrative from grief does not define me to grief is a part of me. Losing my two sisters forty-two and thirty-three years ago forever changed my life. This is my life, my story, and embracing this truth has lifted a burden of […]

After a Sibling Loss: Signs Not to be Ignored

Posted on April 8, 2023 - by Sue Trace Lawrence

After a sibling loss, it’s natural for a child of any age to experience grief in some form. So what should parents consider a sign of trouble for the child after the sibling’s death? What could be seen as symptoms of mental illness? Below is not an exhaustive list, but it suggests common clues often seen in a child who is suffering emotionally, socially, and psychologically. Signs Not To Be Ignored Expressing statements or presenting behaviors that imply threats to harm self or others. Extreme social withdrawal, to the point of isolation despite the attempts of family and friends to […]