Loss of a Family Member

Articles

  • Is Suffering Necessary?

    Posted on November 26, 2019 - by Nina Impala

    I have been thinking a lot about suffering, how much we suffer in a lifetime. There seems to be no way of escaping it. The short version for this? We […]

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  • Advent: A Visit in the Darkest Hours

    Posted on November 12, 2019 - by Elizabeth Brady

    During the season of Advent 2003, I was eight months pregnant with Mack. Iz had just turned six and was dressed as an angel having participated in the Christmas Eve […]

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  • There’s a Kind of Crying You Do…

    Posted on November 10, 2019 - by Susan Troccolo

    There’s a kind of crying you do just once in awhile. It leaves your ribs aching, your eyes burning, and your heart so bruised that you realize you can’t live […]

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  • No Outsourcing the ‘Why’ in Grief

    Posted on October 31, 2019 - by Greg Adams

    We are possessed by words. We are wordy creatures. We talk, write, text, sing, shout, and whisper words…all the time. We ponder what we said, what they said, and what […]

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  • Life is NOT About Rainbows and Unicorns

    Posted on October 31, 2019 - by Danita Ogandaga

    Do you remember your life as a child in elementary school? The times when you would run on the playground with a kite in your hand and just run, with […]

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  • Recovery in Pieces

    Posted on October 31, 2019 - by Tambre Leighn

    It’s been many years, many miles, and many tears since the early, raw days of being widowed. The life I am living now is one I would never have recognized […]

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  • How Will I Make it Through the Holidays? Five Ways to Try

    Posted on October 20, 2019 - by Mary Joye

    When the stores stock Halloween items on the shelves, it is reminder that the holidays are on the way. If you’re grieving, these images may further embed haunting memories. It […]

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  • Emotional Recovery Through ‘Adjustability’

    Posted on October 17, 2019 - by Ann Schiebert

    In the living of a life, there are so many challenges that usually come from changing circumstances and loss. Sometimes, those who are suffering from “hard news,” find it almost […]

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  • ‘Pre-Grieving’: An Early On-Ramp to One’s Grief Journey

    Posted on October 16, 2019 - by Herb Knoll

    Loss of a spouse or a life-partner can occur suddenly as in the case of a drug overdose, an auto accident, or someone falling down a flight of stairs. Some […]

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  • Trying to Make Sense of a Tragedy

    Posted on October 4, 2019 - by Bob Baugher

    You’ve heard it many times: News flash—A man was assaulted today. According to authorities, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just look at the word “wrong” […]

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  • Assembling Your Widower Advisory Board

    Posted on October 2, 2019 - by Herb Knoll

    Men need support after the loss of a spouse, and one way to get it is to create a team of people who can coach you. I refer to them […]

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  • Widowers Need To Be Coachable

    Posted on October 2, 2019 - by Herb Knoll

    What do Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, and Derek Jeter all have in common? We could start with a considerable amount of athletic ability. Each has been recognized as […]

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  • What I Learned from Reading 2,000 Deathbed Fantasies

    Posted on September 30, 2019 - by Bob Baugher

    It’s true. I’ve read a couple thousand submissions by people who wrote what it might feel like if they had 20 minutes to live: who they would want at their […]

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  • He Talked about His Son and I Didn’t See a Tear

    Posted on September 24, 2019 - by Bob Baugher

     It’s interesting how human behavior can fool us. We look at someone and think, “OK, I’ve got her all figured out” and then she does something we would have never […]

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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 […]

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  • 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 […]

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  • 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 […]

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  • 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 […]

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  • 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 […]

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  • 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 […]

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  • 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 […]

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  • How to Become a Grief Warrior

    Posted on August 31, 2019 - by Catherine McNulty

    To survive the loss of a child takes strength, tenacity, and perseverance. If you’ve lost a child, you know it is the hardest thing you may ever face. Watching my […]

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  • Widowers Need To Step Out of The Shadows and Into the Light of Day

    Posted on August 31, 2019 - by Herb Knoll

    Grieving men are misunderstood. And for a good reason. After all, men don’t believe they have permission to grieve in the first place. When a man experiences a loss, they […]

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  • Suddenly This Summer

    Posted on August 23, 2019 - by Carol Henderson

    On the evening of July 4th, 2019, I was sitting with my daughter Olivia and my son-in-law Patrick on their small New York City apartment terrace. In the far distance, […]

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  • Finding Hope After Substance Abuse

    Posted on August 23, 2019 - by Carlos Davila

    Drug and alcohol addiction is a serious problem that affects everyone in one way or another. Because addictive substances provide temporary but powerful feelings of euphoria or happiness, even casual […]

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  • Coping When Your Best Friend Prematurely Ends Their Life

    Posted on August 13, 2019 - by Alexis Schaffer

    When we lose someone we love, there are a lot of thoughts and feelings that flood in and overwhelm us. Dealing with the shock of it all can send anyone […]

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  • Celebrations of Life, Funerals, and the Need for Ritual

    Posted on August 13, 2019 - by Greg Adams

      When I was growing up and someone died, we spent a lot of time at the funeral home. Between the ages of 10 and 12, both of my maternal […]

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  • The First Thing To Do After Losing Your Baby

    Posted on July 31, 2019 - by Catherine McNulty

    Grieving is hard.  Grieving the loss of your baby is even harder.  Let’s be honest, it just plain sucks.  If you are reading this because it’s happened to you, know […]

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  • Telling-Your-Child-About-a-Death

    The Stories We Tell Ourselves

    Posted on July 31, 2019 - by Tambre Leighn

    What is the story you tell yourself about your loss? Even as a child, I understood the power of stories. Through words, I could escape into worlds far, far away. […]

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  • Facing Your Mortality Can Be a Gift

    Posted on July 18, 2019 - by Harriet Hodgson

    We grieve because we love. Coming to terms with personal mortality can be a form of grief. Life is precious and we don’t want it to end. I faced my […]

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  • What Grief Has Taught Me

    Posted on July 9, 2019 - by Lisa Boehm

    My daughter Katie is now in heaven. Everything is new. Everything is different. Everything is devastatingly difficult. I’ve learned to walk, breathe, and exist without letting grief keep me down, […]

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  • Ten Ways To Keep Your Spouse’s Memory Alive

    Posted on July 9, 2019 - by Peggy Bell

    Becoming widowed is a gut-wrenching experience. It brings so much sadness and loneliness to our lives. It takes a huge adjustment to get through those days along the grief journey. […]

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  • Difficult Grief:  Three Steps to Compassion for Yourself and Others

    Posted on June 25, 2019 - by Nina Impala

    Overall humans can be pretty hard on themselves. It seems like I am always telling my clients not be to be so hard on themselves. Watch the self-talk. Imagine yourself […]

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  • Angels Walk Among Us

    Posted on June 24, 2019 - by Herb Knoll

    “Hi, my name is Richard.” Thus began my knowing a giant of a man named Richard Blount (62) as he sat down in the chair beside me. The occasion was […]

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  • Gratitude and Grief – Is it Possible?

    Posted on June 23, 2019 - by Lisa Boehm

    My experience with gratitude began about five minutes after the police and coroner visited our home the night my daughter Katie died. I remember being thankful that she died instantly. […]

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  • Fly On

    Posted on June 22, 2019 - by Rosemary James

    “You found your wings, then you flew away from me,” resonates off the newly painted, lantern-gold bedroom walls. A brighter color to enliven my spirits. We had decided to paint […]

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  • Embracing Helplessness

    Posted on May 15, 2019 - by Greg Adams

    Part of me doesn’t want to write about this—feeling and being helpless. Among the feelings I experience on a regular basis, it is one of the least favorite and possibly […]

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  • Turning Less Into More

    Posted on May 15, 2019 - by Tambre Leighn

    Well, that was unexpected. It seems, even when dozens and dozens of years have passed, grief, and what triggers it, can still surprise me. I’m writing this on Mother’s Day. […]

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  • Boy’s Don’t Cry…right?  WRONG!  And That’s Okay

    Posted on May 8, 2019 - by Herb Knoll

      From the time little boys are first able to walk, in some cases even before they can walk, parents begin shaping the psyche of their sons by telling them, […]

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  • Four Things that Helped Me When my Friend, Sarah, Died

    Posted on April 27, 2019 - by Heidi Gessner

    “If I had a flower or every time I thought of you, I could walk through my garden forever.” — Alfred Tennyson “I have some sad news about my sister […]

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  • The Breath of Life is a Touch from Heaven

    Posted on April 11, 2019 - by Nina Impala

      Our hearts continue beating no matter the sadness and visceral pain we experience when a love one dies. What else can our breathing do? Let me invite you to […]

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  • Celebration Service Brings Mother Solace

    Posted on April 7, 2019 - by Shirley Wiles-Dickinson

    My 40-year-old son, Jeff, passed away very unexpectedly on 12/13/2018. I thought my sister’s death was the worse thing I would ever go through. Then Jeff died. It is difficult […]

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  • Grief Through the Rearview Mirror

    Posted on April 7, 2019 - by Tambre Leighn

    This big, horrible thing happens. You lose the person with whom you chose to partner for the challenging, amazing, and, sometimes, scary thing called life. Each of us has our […]

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  • Well-Dressed Grief

    Posted on March 22, 2019 - by Larry Patten

    He was dressed for success. His suit was charcoal gray, shirt the blue of a perfect spring sky, both complimented by an elegant tie. Since the gentleman had just entered […]

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