Linda Della-Donna

Linda Della-Donna is founder and director of http://www.griefcase.net. Griefcase is a nonprofit organization. Linda Della Donna supports widows going through the grief process. Della Donna makes her home 50 miles north from where the World Trade Center used to be. Email Linda Della Donna at griefcasenet@gmail.com

Articles:

You Know You’re a Widow When…

You Know You’re a Widow When You know you’re a widow when… At the end of a good day, you bust out crying for no particular reason. At the end of a bad day, you burst out laughing for no particular reason. And at the end of every day, you crawl into bed and sleep on His side. You refuse to throw away His toothbrush, His razor, His bar of soap. Because you think He’ll need them. The sight of His bathrobe hanging on a hook on the back of the bathroom door reduces you to tears, but you refuse […]

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Dear Widow: When Mistletoe and Holly Make You Feel All Blue

Oh, by gosh, by golly, whaddayaknow, it’s Happy Holiday time, again! And that red-suited man standing on your street corner’s extolling, “Ho! Ho! Ho!” making, you, dear widow, want to scream, “No! No! No!” instead, because your husband is dead. Just like teeny snowflakes falling from the sky, you’re feeling sad and a tiny bit silly. You don’t understand. Because it’s *hand over mouth* years since you buried that man. Not to worry. Because I’m a widow, too. And I got three tips for you to get you through. Tip #1 – Cry. Go ahead. Give yourself permission. Pick a […]

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You Know You’re a Widow When…

By Linda Della Donna — You know you’re a widow when… At the end of a good day, you bust out crying for no particular reason. At the end of a bad day, you burst out laughing for no particular reason. At the end of everyday, you crawl into bed and sleep on His side. You refuse to throw away His toothbrush, His razor, His bar of soap, because you think He’ll need them. The sight of His bathrobe hanging on a hook on the back of the bathroom door reduces you to tears, but you refuse to throw it […]

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For Widows Only — Three Secret Things To Guide You

You’re home now — From the cemetery — Just closed the door on an endless line of well-wishing-filled-with-advice strangers who didn’t know what to say but talked endlessly anyway, and now that they’re gone you know you will never see or hear from most of them ever again. Your hair smells of roses and gladioli and you secretly wish for a giant eraser to erase all the pain. You’ve just buried your life partner; your husband, your best friend. As Joan Didion says, “Life changes fast.” He’s gone now and like it or lump it, you’re not. You stand before […]

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For Widows Only–6 Ways To Have A Happier New Year

Happy New Year! Yeah, I know. You?re thinking what?s with this writer? Life sucks without Him by your side. How dare she use the H word and wish me a Happy New Year. Well, I feel your pain. Really, I do, because I am a widow, too. But, I?m here to tell you, everything will be alright. No, it won?t be like it was before He left. But yes, you can and you will get through 2007–With a smile.

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For Widows Only-You Know You’re A Widow When

At the end of a good day you bust out crying for no particular reason. At the end of a bad day you burst out laughing for no particular reason. At the end of everyday, you crawl into bed and sleep on His side. You refuse to throw away His toothbrush, His razor, His bar of soap. Because you think He?ll need them.

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For the New Widow — What We Worry About

We are alone. And we worry about that. We worry we will die alone. We buried our life partner. And now we worry about who will bury us? Who will walk our dogs, who will feed our cats when we’re gone?

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For the New Widow: Ten Tips To Help Her Survive…After the Funeral

You?re home now. A short while ago you stood over a hole in the earth. You blew a kiss, tossed a rose, sprinkled a shovelful of dirt over a casket, and said goodbye to your husband, your soul mate, the best friend you ever had. As you move about greeting hungry strangers, someone whispers that the woman wandering about with mayonnaise on her chin is your mother?s sister?s next door neighbor?s cousin?s dog?s pet sitter. It is a scene right out of Star Wars, the one in the bar, and you feel trapped

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For Widows Only — Three Secret Things To Guide You

You?re home now — From the cemetery — Just closed the door on an endless line of well-wishing-filled-with-advice strangers who didn?t know what to say but talked endlessly anyway, and now that they?re gone you know you will never see or hear from most of them ever again. Your hair smells of roses and gladioli and you secretly wish for a giant eraser to erase all the pain. You?ve just buried your life partner; your husband, your best friend. As Joan Didion says, ?Life changes fast.?

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For Widows Only — What I’ve Learned

After my husband died, I trashed my writing — Journals — An accumulation of spiral bound notebooks, one for each month of each year for four years. And a YA novel manuscript I was working on. I blamed my husband’s dying on my writing. I told myself, Self, if you hadn?t spent so much time writing, you might have noticed your husband was sick.

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