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Something Beautiful Remains

Posted on September 24, 2019 - by Elaine Voci

“Tears will leave no stains, time will ease the pain, For every life that fades, something beautiful remains.” The sunlit formal room, filled with attentive mourners and the family of the deceased, was utterly quiet as I began to read the closing poem, Something Beautiful Remains (author unknown) chosen for the Celebration of Life I had just officiated. The words resonated in my own heart as I spoke them, and I felt compassion well up in my eyes for the heartache of those who had gathered to celebrate the life of their loved one who was a wife, a mom, […]

How Grief and Addiction are Related

Posted on September 24, 2019 - by Ralph Macey

“Every man casts a shadow; not his body only, but his imperfectly mingled spirit. This is his grief. Let him turn which way he will, it falls opposite to the sun; short at noon, long at eve. Did you never see it? “ – Henry David Thoreau If we are going to talk about grief and addiction, the simple fact is that they are truly connected. In many cases, severe grief triggers addiction in us. If the former one increases with time, the latter one will also become deep. Before we understand how grief can trigger addiction, we must understand […]

A Statistical Look at Grief: Markers on a Lonely Journey

Posted on September 24, 2019 - by Tracey Wallace

Throw the stages of grief out the window. They simply can’t be trusted. If you are like me, or most people who are grieving in any way shape or form, the stages of grief aren’t’ stages at all. They can happen all at once, and whenever they want –– from the moment the loss happens to 10 or 50 years later. The reality is that loss is cyclical. The grief of it never goes away –– it’s just that in the “new normal” you find in which grief will always live, so too lives joy and love and passion. Of […]

From Feeling to Filling the Empty Nest

Posted on September 24, 2019 - by Annah Elizabeth

Those late summer and early fall months are filled with all things back-to-school shopping, which can also usher in a barrage of emotions for children and adults alike. It is a time that incites growth and change, independence and uncertainty, excitement and anxiety, and pride and worry, to name a few. It is not uncommon for people of all ages to feel a little lost, wondering where and how they are going to fit in in their new roles and environments, and feeling a little unsteady as they transition into a new Life Phase. As parents, our lives are often […]

Own Your Grief

Posted on September 19, 2019 - by Catherine McNulty

An excerpt from Catherine McNulty’s book, The Gifts of Grief. “Grief is not something to survive or a disease to cure. It is a universal human emotion and an opportunity to deepen self-awareness, re-evaluate what’s truly important, and take action to bring meaning into your life.” Although grief is an emotion everyone goes through, each one of us goes through it in a different way. It seems like we all think that grief is something that we can escape; until it happens to us. We’re told by the books that we read and advice that we get from others, that […]

Grief Coaches and Therapist Can Help

Posted on September 12, 2019 - by Catherine McNulty

An excerpt from Catherine McNulty’s book, The Gifts of Grief. “You are not alone.” The intensity of the grief we experience is a result of the love and connection we have with someone else. Understanding that connection and how it relates to who we are is what matters. This is best done with a personal coach or guide. Whether a death occurred in your life recently, or you’ve been holding on to grief for a long time, I encourage you to go out and hire a Grief Coach. Finding a way to connect to someone who can help you can […]

Can You Grieve for a Place?

Posted on September 6, 2019 - by Harriet Hodgson

My husband and I are moving in a month. He is paraplegic. I’m recovering from open heart surgery and have a pig valve in my heart. These factors made us decide to move to a place with support services. We are leaving our wheelchair-friendly town home and moving to a senior living community. Though the decision is the right one, when I look around our town home I feel sad. I grieve for a lost lifestyle. Our apartment is in the independent living part of the building, yet we won’t be totally independent. Wherever we go, we will be surrounded […]

Don’t Give in To Despair

Posted on September 5, 2019 - by Catherine McNulty

An excerpt from Catherine McNulty’s book, The Gifts of Grief. I encourage you to be strong. Christina Rasmussen said, “Life after loss is choosing to start over when you would rather not.” I want to encourage you to stop hiding from the grief that has come to you. Hold on to my promise that gifts are coming into your life through this grieving process. Grief is not something you need to fall victim to and you don’t need to tell yourself that there is nothing you can do now. Take the time you need to grieve, but when you are […]

Returning to ‘Single’ after the Loss of a Spouse

Posted on August 31, 2019 - by Peggy Bell

Excerpt from Life After Loss For Widows: Lifting the Veil of Grief I remember this one incident so well. A little over a year after losing Randy, I was enrolling for an upcoming retreat at our church. I had gone in the afternoon. The church was open for those who wanted to drop in and sign up. There was no one there when I went. I started filling out the paperwork. Then I got to the part that asked me to circle my marital status. The choices were: “M” for married, “S” for single, or “D” for divorced. At that […]

A Southern Baptist Family’s First Cremation

Posted on August 31, 2019 - by Tracey Wallace

By 2040, they say more than 80% of Americans will be cremated. Also, more than 53% of us choose that over burial. And while for some this may seem normal and natural, for others, like my Southern Baptist family, this is a huge shift. On July 2, 2015, my stepfather had a massive heart attack while driving back to work from his lunch break. He pulled over to the side of the road, and died. It would be hours until we could find him, given he’d chosen a route on a backcountry road rather than a highway. His death sent […]