Lauren Muscarella
Lauren started the blog Mama Quest in May 2010 to share stories of her journey through loss after losing her mother in 2006 at age 20. The blog also serves as an outlet to pass on the wisdom she received from her mother, who died of breast cancer at 52. After an overwhelmingly positive response to the blog, she launched Trauma to Art, a movement to support and facilitate creative expression from those who have experienced loss. Now Lauren works to build the Trauma to Art community while writing a book of creative arts therapy activities for confronting grief as well as preserving the memory of lost loved ones. In her spare time, Lauren enjoys volunteering, traveling, wine tasting, and learning to speak French.
Articles:
Creating a Community of Grievers
It’s not what you say; it’s what you do. Every now and then, I smack my head for saying the dumbest thing. ”I should have said this not that,” I exult. Since I write http://mamaquest.org, a blog about losing my mother, and run http://trauma2art.com, a site about creative expression after loss, I should know exactly what to say when someone tells me about their experience in grieving. I don’t actually. We all experience something different even if the themes are the same. I have some standard phrases that I use when someone first loses a loved one. As a general […]
Read MoreThe Art of Patience in the Grieving Process
Quick. Fast. Now. Go. Do. Success. Power. Instant gratification is an unfortunate American archetype. I feel myself drawn to this alluring proposition constantly even when I have, on more than one occasion, realized it’s self-defeating. I want to get where I am going now, not two hours from now, not two years from now. Right now. Even as a big proponent of living in the moment, something self-help gurus bellow regularly, I catch myself impatiently chasing after my current challenge at any given time. I want to climb the damn mountain already and move on to the next. But by […]
Read MoreThe Importance of Older Women After Mother-Loss
Volunteering at a hospital adorns me with friends whose ages span from 70 to 6. It’s actually quite enlightening. Occasionally a child needs looking after while a parent attends to adult things, and I have the privilege of listening to a first-grader read to me. Having friends who are older is especially important since my mother and I never had the chance to talk about life the way I would have liked. How we spoke when I was 19 is vastly different from how we would speak today. For that reason, I make it a point to nurture and cherish […]
Read MoreGrieving at a Young Age
In the last nine months, I’ve had the privilege of hearing from several people who have lost loved ones. I know it sounds strange to put it that way but after starting MamaQuest.org and Trauma2art.com, I became an available listener. Because I shared my experience of grief, people feel safe to tell me their story. Hearing these stories is both cathartic for them and comforting for me. I quickly realized everyone’s experience is unique, but we all share a common problem: how do we cope? We also share a bond for seeking to understand what we are going through. Being […]
Read MoreGrieving and Growing in the New Year
Here is a list of things that can help those of us who are grieving so we can go into 2011 with optimism and good faith. Stay fit. PrescribingYoga.com: This online resource explores the overlapping worlds of yoga, health, food, and medicine. The creator Christina (@Palmer_CS), a fourth year medical student, talks yoga, nutrition and gives great book recommendations. Zen Habits – Smile, Breathe & Go Slowly: This site features one or two articles a week on simplicity, health & fitness, motivation and inspiration, frugality, family life, happiness, goals, getting great things done, and living in the moment. One of my […]
Read MoreElizabeth Edwards Showed How to Meet Challenges with Humility
There is no shortage of “Remembering Elizabeth Edwards” articles. This deluge of information sometimes leads to overload and subsequent dismissal. The passing of a public figure, like with any notable event, is an important opportunity to spend some introspective time alone. I read through many of those articles and finished feeling unsatisfied by the shallow reporting. I have plenty of memories of Elizabeth Edwards’ news stories. Some stories were good, and some of those stories made me wince at how they intruded on her personal life. After her passing, I wanted to take that perspective and go back in time. […]
Read MoreA Motherless Daughter Ponders Dating and Love
At 25, I realize the experience of losing my mother will continue to evolve as time passes. Even if I had spent every waking moment with her until the day she died, I would still be here. I have no mom to talk with about my romantic relationships. She loved giving advice, so I know she would have taken great pride in being my shoulder to cry on and my closest advisor. I try to find substitutes. My father is a big believer of, “when it’s right you feel it.” His idea is too rose-colored glasses for me. Giving my […]
Read MoreChanneling My Mother’s Guidance
My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was five but her infectious enthusiasm allowed those around her to forget she was sick. She dropped everything for me and constantly told me not to worry. She accepted her breast cancer and brushed it off so I did the same. Eventually, in the last few years of her life, she did start to look a little different but I pushed it so far out of my head that I did not see was right in front of me. A few months before she died, she started to actually look sick. She […]
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