Louis LaGrand

Louis E. LaGrand, Ph.D., is Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York and Adjunct Professor of Health Careers at the Eastern Campus of Suffolk Community College in Riverhead, New York. He was a member of the debriefing team for the Nassau County Medical Examiner’s office on the TWA Flight 800 disaster, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, and a founder and past-president of Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley. The author of eight books and numerous articles, he is known world-wide for his research on the Extraordinary Experiences of the bereaved (After-Death Communication phenomena). His first two books on the subject of the extraordinary have been translated into several languages. Messages and Miracles: The Extraordinary Experiences of the Bereaved is listed in the 100 Top Bestsellers for Counseling by the Online Dictionary of Mental Health. Love Lives On: Learning from the Extraordinary Encounters of the Bereaved, was released in November, 2006 by Berkley Books, a division of Penguin. His newest book is Healing Grief, Finding Peace: 101 Ways to Cope with the Death of Your Loved One. Dr. LaGrand holds advanced degrees from Columbia University, the University of Notre Dame, and Florida State University. He has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows throughout the country including Unsolved Mysteries, Art Bell Coast to Coast, and Strange Universe. With over 25 years of counseling the bereaved, he is an international speaker who gives workshops on death-related topics in schools, hospices, and health agencies in the US, Canada, and England. He is currently Bereavement Coordinator at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Venice, Florida, and Director of Loss Education Associates.

Articles:

Extraordinary Experience: Signs from Beyond

Let me emphasize at the outset that I have been trained in the scientific method and hold a dutiful respect for science. However, I have no doubt whatsoever that many bereaved people receive signs or messages from their deceased loved ones or a Supreme being that helps them deal with their losses and reinvest in life. I was not brought up in a world of the extraordinary and have had no yen for the unfamiliar or the unknown. But all of that changed in 1981 when a 64 year-old woman came to me with a story of unusual clarity and […]

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How to Surrender to Grief

By Louis LaGrand — “What you resist, persists.” It’s an old psychological saying that is especially applicable to anyone when mourning the death of a loved one. In other words, trying to repress feelings, “be strong” or pretend you are doing well when you are not, will guarantee that pain will spill out in unexpected ways. You will not only prolong the intensity of your grief process, you can be sure you will add loads of unnecessary suffering to legitimate pain and sadness. Grief is, contrary to popular belief, a normal human response.  It seeks expression when a person faces […]

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How to Care For Your Brain While Grieving

By Dr. Lou LaGrand — Has it been weeks since the death of your loved one and you still feel sluggish with low energy levels? Are you hesitant in making decisions? Confused? Is hope draining out of you and all you think about is a bleak future? It is not unusual to suffer physical and emotional depletion when mourning. Adapting to the loss of a loved one is always a major challenge and calls for a new awareness and the development of new routines without the presence of the beloved. It will help you immensely to deal with all of […]

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Dealing with Grief Triggers After a Loss

By Dr. Louis LaGrand — Have you been having a relatively good day after a loss, and then while watching television, see a particular scene and suddenly feel the return of sadness? Or has a newspaper story of the death of a stranger set off sorrowful memories for you? These are moments of “grief triggering,” and are commonly the cause of grieving that can go on for days or longer. Kim Wencl, whose daughter died in a tragic house fire while at college, had the following experience. The bridge collapse in Minneapolis was a trigger for me. It really had […]

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