My dear mum, Ethel, did not manage well at all after my dad, Bob, died when my brother and I were aged 8 and 5. Although we were all absolutely grief-stricken, mum’s grief was especially intense, prolonged and tragic. In the immediate days following, mum was incapable of caring for us and allowed neighbours to [...]
I found this statement to be true with various types of pain. Time eases all pain is a very true statement. Not only the pain caused by losses of the heart, but the fear of perceived pain, and physical pain.
As a nurse I ask my patients, “On a scale of one-to-ten, 1 being [...]
We’ve barely made it through the holidays of December and January, and now the stores are filled with hearts and flowers and candy, all of it in celebration of the gift of love. But February 14 can be a difficult day for those of us who are grieving, and for some it will be the [...]
Grief is a great mental pain that occurs after the loss of someone dear to you. You will have to accept the fact that someone so close to you is lost. This pain is really tough to withstand and can’t be brought under control. Losses of loved ones like parent, children and spouse have equal [...]
If you are past your teens you probably suffered the loss of someone you care for. After all, death is as common as birth but somehow we do not view it as part of the natural process of life. Our culture does not support grieving. Many of us are afraid of death, because we don’t [...]
You can recall clearly the day your father took you for your first bicycle ride. It was a crisp autumn day and the sun was shining on your brand new Huffy. You remember his hand gently guiding your bike along the road that ran by your apartment building. You even recall his [...]
How would you know what the lesson is? You don’t live to tell it!? As a person focused on personal change and transition, it does strike me that this is the ultimate transition. The lesson is in the observation of the process. It’s either the pre or post death experience of [...]
Nothing is more heartbreaking than the death of a child. Writing a eulogy for a young person can be a hard task, especially if one was close to the child. As you review the life of the child you will eulogize, remember why people deliver eulogies: to memorialize the person who has died and celebrate [...]
Recently, several suicides have occurred right here in my own hometown of about 16,000 people. The latest of these involved a friend of mine who was, among other things, the leader of a Christian Business Fellowship which I attend. He was a lawyer with a terrific wife, two young kids, very prominent in his church, [...]
Are you spending this Mother’s Day wondering if you are, in fact, a mother? 900,000-1 million women in the U.S. alone face this question every year after suffering pregnancy loss. "For women who experience a miscarriage during their first pregnancy, the question of motherhood is an even greater one," says Lisa Church of HopeXchange, a [...]