Articles

by Tim Ovediekhttps://diaryofawidower.com FRIDAY, January 1, 2010 – In front of the house, three young men are loudly saying goodbye to  each other.  Apparently they’ve spent the first seven hours of the new year in a state of extreme  inebriation. One of them proclaims loudly that he’s ready for a good fuck. Typical macho blowhards. I’m one of the poor souls who are not on their way home, but is up early in order to take the dog out and, to...

song by Faith HillWhere are you, Christmas?Why can't I find you?Why have you gone away?Where is the laughter?You used to bring meWhy can't I hear music play?My world is changingI'm rearrangingDoes that mean Christmas changes too?Where are you Christmas?Do you rememberThe one you used to know?I'm not the same oneSee what the time's doneIs that why you have let me go?Christmas is hereEverywhere, ohChristmas is hereIf you care, ohIf there is love in your heart and your mindYou will feel...

by Lisa K Boehmhttps://www.lisakboehm.com How can you possibly go on after you lose a child? And how on earth, can you celebrate Christmas? There's a hole in your family. Someone very important is missing - your child. We were faced with that reality 17 days before Christmas in December 2015. That day, I decided to take the afternoon off of work and spent the afternoon Christmas shopping for my two kids. I was behind on everything that year! I thought...

by Nancy Bernshttps://www.nancyberns.com Do you have that one person still on your Christmas gift list for whom you have no idea what to buy? And if you are like me, after you choose something, you include a gift receipt anyway. It is challenging enough to pick out gifts, but what do you give someone who is grieving? How do you celebrate the season with a person mired in pain? This year, you may know people who are grieving the loss...

borrowed from https://www.tributearchive.com Thanksgiving is a time for family to gather with one another and give thanks for all the blessings in their lives. If you are mourning the loss of a loved one, the holidays can be an emotionally difficult time; especially if this is the first year without them. Whether your loved one was a friend, a family member, or a beloved pet, celebrating the holiday may not feel the same without them there. But part of the grieving process is learning...

by Sarah Epstein LMFThttps://www.psychologytoday.com When a family grieves a loss, a barrage of different emotions, reactions, and coping mechanisms will emerge, likely at different paces. The process of grief may include shutting down, crying, sleeping, struggling to sleep, overeating, struggling with appetite, angry outbursts, irritability, moments of levity, numbness, depression, and denial. Some family members will want to discuss the loss while others withdraw into silence. Some will want to surround themselves with loved ones while others need more time alone. Some may find themselves in a...

by Julie Gentz Dear Brian, It’s the end of the day, and, amazing though it seems sometimes, I have survived yet another holiday without you. It’s funny, but I can make it through a day, looking and acting like I am “OK” (whatever that is in this post pandemic/post death world). But that “OK” is only on the surface. Deep down inside there’s still that empty spot — the place that should have you as a person in it, not you as...

by Maria Kubitzhttps://www.aliveinmemory.org Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck somewhere between living and dead. To be more specific, when my 4-year-old daughter died, a part of me died with her. For over a decade I’ve dealt with the pain of my grief. During that time, I’ve continually been learning how to reinvest in living a meaningful life. Yet the part of me that died is tethered to the realm of the dead. A realm that contains my daughter, the world...

by Kelly Farleyhttps://grievingdads.com I talk to a lot of grieving dads that experience severe psychological impacts after the loss of their child.  I too experienced many of the same impacts after the death of my children and it scared the hell out of me. Not long after the death of my son Noah I noticed that I had lost my drive, focus, confidence and hope.  I also started to feel things that I had never experienced before, including despair, fear...

by Eleanor Haleyhttps://whatsyourgrief.com I want to be upfront with you. This post is about giving the benefit of the doubt to people who have said the wrong thing(s) to you in your grief. I feel the need to preface this because I know many of our readers have been treated poorly by friends and family since the death of their loved one. If this is you, I assure you I don't want to minimize your experience. I know people can be...

by Nancy Bernshttps://www.nancyberns.com When Christina was a teenager, her mother and several younger siblings died in a car accident. During the first week after her mom died, Christina and her remaining siblings would go through their mom’s closet and smell the familiar perfume on her clothes. Christina recalled, “She was a nurse and worked evenings so she had a robe that she always got ready in. It smelled like her perfume and it always smelled like that. So right after...

By Molly Allen   There is so much excitement that comes from planning your wedding, from choosing your venue and décor to selecting pretty blooms and delicious food. At the same time, if there are loved ones who have passed away and won’t be present for your special day, it can also feel tough. Saying "I do" without someone special present is difficult. "Feeling the absence of a loved one on such a monumental day can definitely add to the weight of an already emotional...