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Writing When Life Hurts

Posted on February 1, 2023 - by Beth Marshall

After losing three close family members in five years, I remember feeling overwhelmed as waves of unanticipated emotions would roll in like a storm. How long would this intense sorrow last? Would life ever feel normal again? What if I forget about the people I’m missing? And why do well-intentioned people say crazy things when they’re trying to be helpful? I searched volumes of grief-related books, envisioning a clear, concise manual to lead me down the well-lit path to healing. As you might imagine, there was no such book available. Nothing on the market was touching the deep sadness in […]

Feeling Sad or Being Sad?

Posted on January 30, 2023 - by Greg Adams

Are We Feeling Sad or Being Sad? Do you ever hear a story or a comment that really stays with you? It hangs out in the back of your mind and repeatedly pops up to the front of your mind when you’re not looking? It’s an idea searching for a home in your head or heart. You, however, are not so sure you want to give this idea even temporary lodging much less allow it to unpack its bags and settle in. But there’s something there, or you think there might be, so you keep returning to it, considering, turning […]

Why Some Widows Choose Not to Date Again

Posted on January 28, 2023 - by Samantha Ruth

Being a widow is hard. Anywhere! Starting over in a new area adds more layers of adjustment. I’ve been meeting people and attending events, but it’s a lot of couples. So, I finally decided to go to a “widows walk.” I’m cringing even writing this. There’s gotta be a better name! Women’s Walk is better, if you ask me. I was looking forward to meeting other women who are part of this club I never asked to join. After all, we had an immediate connection. Questions About Dating Life If only it were that easy. I arrived on time and […]

Finding Purpose and Meaning in Our Older Years

Posted on January 26, 2023 - by Jacqui Coombe

Enrich Your Life with Meaning There’s a common myth that life happens in three stages. That life is linear and that there is a clear path that moves from education to work and family and then on to leisure. Those who follow this path often find their identity changes with each stage, along with their quest for reward and enrichment. Reward and enrichment go hand in hand when it comes to gaining meaning and purpose. Reward is something given to you in recognition of service, effort, or achievement. Enrichment is the action of improving or enhancing the quality or value […]

Father Writes a Musical for Deceased Son

Posted on January 23, 2023 - by Larry Hirschhorn

A Shocking Loss My son Aaron Hirschhorn died in a boating accident in Miami bay on March 28, 2022. He was a month shy of 43 years old. He left behind his wife Karine and three children, August, Joel and Elle. Aaron was a wonderful man: energetic, lively, intelligent, an entrepreneur who had started two companies and was rising to the top of his game. He was a loving and loyal son. His death shook my world to its core. On April 29, 2022, the day before Aaron’s 44th birthday, my community of family and friends attended a performance of a […]

Conscious Grieving

Posted on January 23, 2023 - by Lisa Irish

Note: Lisa Irish is offering an online workshop on Jan. 28, 2023. For more information, https://www.lisairish.com/event/attending-to-grief-hope-in-a-changing-world/ What is Conscious Grieving? Most people think grief is something to be endured or fixed. We attend support groups, for example, to get grief to go away. We stay busy to push the feelings aside. When friends say, “Maybe it’s time to move on,” we are outraged. “How could anyone impose a timetable on my grief?” But at the same time, we wonder the same thing, “Shouldn’t I be doing better by now? How do I heal from this grief?” I seek to rearrange […]

Grief Loves Company: After a Sibling-Loss

Posted on January 15, 2023 - by Sue Trace Lawrence

Losing a Sibling is Unique Losing a sibling is different from other losses. At times I find myself becoming extremely nostalgic, and it is difficult not having a cohort with whom to share childhood memories. On some level, we know and expect that our older relatives will leave us eventually. However, our brothers and sisters are the connection between the child we were and the adult we become. They know the good and the not-so-good details about us, and if we are lucky, they love us anyway. They are part of our childhood frame of reference. Losing them hurts any […]

Sibling Survivors Need Connection

Posted on January 12, 2023 - by Sue Trace Lawrence

Being a sibling survivor can make one feel like an alien at times. There may be a classroom full of students who are dealing with a divorce at home. But chances are poor that others are coping with the death of a brother or sister. It is a relatively small club. That is a good thing of course, but it can force the remaining siblings to alienate themselves, which is not advantageous to a child. Through my writing, I hope to remind fellow survivors that others exist who have been in the same unenviable shoes and have managed to march […]

What Does Grief Look and Feel Like?

Posted on January 12, 2023 - by Ilana Estelle

Grief is different for each of us. One size does not fit all. How Grief Appears The appearance of grief is also different for everyone. Sometimes grief may appear as anger, physical pain, sleeplessness, fear, depression, hostility, or loneliness. While some of us may grieve and look inwards at what we’ve lost, others may look to blame; they may also look to question what they believe. Belief is very much interlinked with grief. Many people think that having a belief means their loved ones wouldn’t get sick and die, particularly true for people whose loved ones pass early. But good […]

How Widows Can Improve Their Self-Talk and Move Forward with Grief

Posted on January 10, 2023 - by Kim Murray

Self-Talk Matters Your internal dialogue and self-talk determine how you feel about yourself and how you act in the world. For widows, it’s especially important to understand how your self-talk promotes or prohibits healing after a spouse or partner dies. It’s not uncommon for widows to focus on negative thoughts because they’re overwhelmed with grief, realizing all the secondary losses that accompany the death of a spouse, and feeling the hopelessness of being suddenly solo. Widows often have lots of negative internal dialogue after their spouse or partner dies because death is devastating, and the self-talk in a widow’s brain […]