Grief is not always sad and depressing, but can be inspiring and encouraging. Everyone deals with grief differently. Writing is an avenue through which healing begins. Something inside is unleashed, as a creative literary embryo develops and is born. This newborn combines tear jerking memories and a dash of optimism to turn melancholy into joy and productivity.
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There is something so tragic in last month’s awful murder of those sweet unassuming Amish kids. We associate the Amish with being lovers of peace, living a life of separatism and simplicity, rejecting the electronic machinery that the rest of us take for granted. No cars, no televisions, no computers or I-Pods, just a close-to-God way of life that at times we wish we could emulate, for its harmony with the earth and its closeness to others in the community. Visiting neighbors is part of the community structure, they actually know who their neighbors
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I belong to The Study Club, a group founded in 1882 to educate women. The Study Club was an outgrowth of the Chautauqua Assemblies and its motto was “We Study for Light to Bless With Light.” Similar clubs were founded at the time and they have all faded away. Though my club still exists, it is dwindling. Alice, a nurse and researcher, had belonged to club for many years. Members always looked forward to her papers. This year’s paper was supposed to be on a world leader, but the schedule changed after Alice had a physical exam and learned she […]
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Welcome to our new interactive blog! This is our “temporary home” — we’ll be changing the design, adding new features, including tons of audio, podcasts, articles, maybe some video and of course your stories, questions and comments. Dealing with the loss of a loved one is one of life’s most difficult challenges. The Grief Blog’s goal is to enhance the work our community is already doing and provide an open forum with the singular goal of helping one another. If you haven’t already, please take advantage of the resources provided by our the great people at http://www.thecompassionatefriends.org , visit our […]
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OCTOBER 19, 2006 ? PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: SIBLING DEATH FROM A LONG TERM ADDICTION:? ROD COLVIN who lost his brother, Randy, age 35, to a drug addiction in 1988. Randy?s death inspired Rod, a former journalist, to write Prescription Drug Addiction?The Hidden Epidemic.? Rod currently is the publisher of Addicus Books out of Omaha, Nebraska. From 2003 to 2005, Rod served on an advisory panel to The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), Columbia University, which produced ?Under the Counter: The Diversion and Abuse of Prescription Drugs in the U.S.,? a landmark study on prescription drug abuse in the […]
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HEALING THE GRIEVING HEART Death of an Adult Child Hosts:? Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley With guest:? Natalie Smith-Blakeslee October 12, 2006 G:?Hello, I?m Dr. Gloria Horsley.? Welcome to Healing the Grieving Heart.? If you?re listening today to Thursday, our live Internet show, please join Heidi and me on the show by calling our toll-free number 1-866-472-5792 with questions or comments regarding the losses in your life.? This show is a show of hope and renewal for those who have suffered the loss of a child or a sibling or a grandchild and always our message is others […]
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OCTOBER 12, 2006 – DEATH OF AN ADULT CHILD:? NATALIE SMITH-BLAKESLEE.? For more than ten years Natalie Smith-Blakeslee has connected parents with the children they have lost with her “Messages from the Light” She thought she understood what it was like for a parent to lose a child. She had no clue until her 27 year old daughter, Carrie, passed from leukemia on October 2, 2005. Just twelve short months after her daughter passing, she is driven to help other bereaved parents who endure the same loss through a website she made in memory of Carrie called “Healing Hearts Haven.”? […]
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OCTOBER 26, 2006 ? COMING TO TERMS WITH LOSS:? DONNA SCHUURMAN, National Director of The Dougy Center for Grieving Children & Families, where she has served in various roles since 1986.? She has written and trained internationally on children?s bereavement issues, and is the author of Never the Same: Coming to Terms with the Death of a Parent.? Dr. Schuurman served as President of the Board of Directors for the Association for Death Education & Counseling, and in 2003 received their Annual Service Award.? She is a member of the International Work Group on Death and Dying, and serves as […]
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Elaine E. Stillwell, M.A., M.S., is a wife, mother, educator, author and lecturer.? In 1986 following the deaths of her two oldest children, 21 year old Denis and 19 year old Peggy, Elaine and her husband, Joe, founded The Compassionate Friends of Rockville Centre (NY) where they continue as Chapter Leaders today.? Elaine has shared her gifts of caring and humor at workshops, seminars, and on radio and television.? She also writes magazine articles, pamphlets, books and has a column in Grief Digest.? Since 1998 she has been Bereavement Coordinator for 134 parishes in the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The […]
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SEPTEMBER 7, 2006 ? FOUR MOTHERS COPE WITH LOSS: ANNE DIONNE, DEBORAH LEBOUF KULKKULA, YVONNE LANCASTER AND JANE MAKI are four bereaved mothers from Massachusetts who joined together to write the newly published book, ?Every Step of the Way: How Four Mothers Coped with Child Loss.? They came together through compassion for one another and a desire to share their stories of lost sons. Each woman shares her personal grief journey of coping through the long dark days of bereavement, to ultimately arriving at peaceful acceptance. Their collective mission is to help others to cope with child loss with the […]
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Open to Hope is an online community offering inspirational stories of loss, hope and recovery. We believe hope is the bridge between loss and recovery.
