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Grief Leads to Self-Discovery

Posted on July 28, 2022 - by Michelle Kaisersatt

Life after a Death. I reflect on that sentence, searching for words to describe what I, as a widow, have felt these last five years. The word “mirror” comes up for me. My partner was my mirror, reflecting back to me who I was, as a human being. When I lost that mirror, I had to navigate that reflection on my own. My partner’s symbiotic understanding of how I felt was no longer present. In the future, would another person be in the equation, learning to know me as my beloved did? Someone who would hold up that mirror with deep […]

How Do I Move Forward When It Hurts So Badly?

Posted on July 28, 2022 - by Peggy Bell

There have been experiences in my life that were difficult to overcome. However, they pale in comparison to the difficulty I experienced when losing my husband. It was as though my heart was ripped from my body. How do I move forward? Early on in my grief, I couldn’t sleep, I had trouble eating and keeping food down, and I couldn’t think clearly. Let’s just lay it there. My life was a mess. Wanting to Stay in Grief I had been married for 30 years, more than half of my life at the time of his death. Besides our jobs, […]

Deeply Remembering Your Spouse

Posted on July 28, 2022 - by Jennifer Katz

This is an excerpt from The Good Widow: A Memoir of Living with Loss – Kindle edition by Katz, Jennifer. Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. My Beloved, It’s just over seven months now since you’ve been gone. At times, I still can’t believe it. It feels incredible that I’ll never again be able to hold your hand or stroke your hair. I ache to touch you again, for you to touch me. I’m starving, ravenous to smell your scent, to breathe your breath. Instead, I stand in front of your open closet and stroke the dress shirts […]

Supporting Others in Grief

Posted on July 20, 2022 - by Skye Page

Supporting Others in Grief There are ways that death affects us all that we sometimes can’t even describe or understand until that one moment that makes us realize just how connected everything is. We live our whole lives wondering when our time will come or how, but nothing prepares you for when it’s someone else’s. We prepare, we worry, and we love with all our hearts, and then they break into a million pieces with the words delivered to you by people who typically don’t know you at all. “Ma’am, I’m sorry we lost him.” “He’s in the hospital, didn’t […]

The Party: Accepting Bliss While Grieving

Posted on July 20, 2022 - by Larry Hirschhorn

If you have lost a child, you know: Despair stings unexpectedly. When you see a photo of your child out of the corner of your eye, or hear a song he liked, or notice that his eight-year-old looks just like him, you may feel shattered by his absence. Strangely, for me, as active and engaged as I am in everyday life, I have, at those moments, the fleeting thought that I would welcome death with a broken heart. I lost my Aaron in a boating accident on March 28, 2021. He was 42. Yet life offers blessings. My other son […]

After Losing Spouse, Be Aware of Online Deceivers

Posted on July 20, 2022 - by Peggy Bell

When you first lose your spouse, many feelings consume you. You may feel numb, fearful, hurt, crushed, angry, in disbelief, or broken. Maybe you feel a combination or even all of these. You aren’t thinking as clearly as you normally would. Sometimes you are left feeling vulnerable because you want your life to not be so painful. In doing so, you may let your guard down more than you normally would. It’s sad but also important to realize that not everyone is looking out for your wellbeing. If you decide to go on social media groups or to join other […]

How to Survive a Memorial Service by Eating All the Cookies

Posted on July 12, 2022 - by Sherry Walling

Dad Helped Plan His Memorial Service We had a memorial service for my dad. He helped plan the shindig. He picked the songs for the video slideshow, asked me to speak, and requested that his older sister, Kathy, co-lead the service. Dad requested that his grandsons play music. And he did not want a viewing. He wanted to be cremated. He had a hand in the whole thing. It was one of the strange gifts of cancer, the time to talk about the ending. Honestly, I’m sad that he wasn’t able to attend. I think he would have had a […]

Fear of Hoping is Obstacle to Grieving

Posted on July 11, 2022 - by Kelly Grosklags

Many people have a difficult relationship with the word hope. They have a fear of hoping. Someone asked me recently, “Does it take courage to hope?” The short answer is yes. Hope is a bittersweet word to many. They fear being that if they believe in something, they will be let down hard. Fear of hoping can act as an emotional protection of sorts. Yet hope is always available. I often hear statements like, “I am not sure if my hope is realistic?” I disagree; we need to allow our mind-body-spirit to experience hope, and not let our thoughts overwhelm […]

The Wisdom of Grief: Healing Through the Dark Emotions

Posted on July 11, 2022 - by Miriam Greenspan

The Wisdom of Grief It is said that when someone we love dies, a part of us dies too. In my experience, it is not a part but the whole—the self we’ve known is all at once shattered. This is how it was when Aaron gasped his last breath on the ICU. Holding his body in death, I was both a mother and not a mother. Expiring in my arms, he was set free, released from the prison of plastic tubes and electronic monitors that attached him to his life. For the first time since the moment of his birth, […]

When a Spouse Dies Suddenly: Two-Week Game Plan

Posted on July 8, 2022 - by Kristin Meekhof

When a Spouse Dies Suddenly What do you do when your spouse dies suddenly? First, contact medical or other authorities. Then call a friend, neighbor, or relative to be with you as soon as possible. As other loved ones arrive, have someone stay with you as much as possible. Call your doctor and advise him or her of your loss. You might need a prescription to calm your nerves and help you sleep. Making Funeral Arrangements If you and your spouse had preplanned funeral services, contact the funeral home or the memorial society. If not, decide on a memorial service […]